


The Kekkei Genkai of Haruno Sakura

by swbooker



Series: Kakashi/Sakura Oneshots [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Declarations Of Love, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluffy Ending, Forced Marriage, Kekkei Genkai | Bloodline Limit, Mildly Dubious Consent, Namikaze Minato Lives, Protective Hatake Kakashi, Sex Pollen, Shameless Smut, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-16 05:26:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17543552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swbooker/pseuds/swbooker
Summary: When Sakura turns 21, she must marry or face death. Thank God she's got Minato: the Love Guru there to help her make sense of it all.





	The Kekkei Genkai of Haruno Sakura

**Author's Note:**

> For the record: I don't hate Sasuke as a character, so the way he acts is not reflective of the way I feel about him. He's just a plot device in this fanfic. 
> 
> I'm not sure how I feel about this one but it was asking to be written and so, between all my other responsibilities, I managed to squeeze out 20,000 words of pure cliches. It's not beta'd and I haven't really proof-read or edited it, so I apologise if the language is basic/sloppy. I'm just so busy!
> 
> **Some things to note: ******
> 
> Sakura is 21 at the beginning of this fic.  
>  Minato is alive. Kushina was a kick-ass seal master who died to reseal the Kyuubi.  
> Akatsuki doesn’t exist but the Uchiha massacre DID happen.  
> Obito simply died (because Madara doesn’t exist).  
> Itachi died to Sasuke’s hand, having been a plain ol’ missing nin.  
> The only enemies are Danzo and Orochimaru.
> 
>  And now, onwards! I hope you enjoy!

**The Kekkei Genkai of Haruno Sakura**

Sakura’s mouth was dry.

She licked her lips nervously, green eyes staring resolutely at her hands, clenched as they were in her lap. Beside her sat Tsunade, hat thrown lazily on the desk on which she drummed her fingers, her other hand cradling her chin as she leaned on the table. She wasn’t looking at Sakura but at the man in front of them, who was clueless so far as to what he was doing there, slouched over, staring at the two women in front of him.

Sakura shifted in her seat, and Kakashi no Sharingan’s eye fixed on her.

“Kakashi,” Tsunade started. “Want a drink?” She indicated to the shot of sake on her desk. It smelled deep and rich, even from where Sakura was sitting, so she knew it must have been expensive. “It’s good stuff.”

Kakashi’s eye crinkled in a false smile, his gaze drawing back to the Hokage. “Aah, no, thanks, Hokage-sama.” He paused, then said with a slight tease to his voice, “Am I just here so you can get me drunk? I always knew you were a bad influence.”

“Straight to the point, I see.” Tsunade’s voice was dry, and she took the sake shot herself, downing it in one. She then offered the bottle to Sakura after refilling her glass.

Sakura, with unsteady hands, took the bottle and swallowed a few gulps of the sake. She wasn’t much of a fan and thus grimaced afterwards, rubbing the back her hand across her lips. Still, it was better than other stuff she’d had, and so she took another few swigs, needing the liquid courage.

As she drank, Tsunade cast her a _look_ , and then turned back to Kakashi. “Hatake. Have you ever heard of the Haruno clan?”

Although she tried valiantly to ignore Kakashi’s gaze as it focussed on her, Sakura felt herself flush up to her ears. It may have been the alcohol.

“Aah, no,” Kakashi replied. “I didn’t think Sakura came from a clan. Why didn’t you mention it?”

That question was obviously directed at Sakura herself but Tsunade, thankfully, saved her. Sakura knew her shishou did it not out of sympathy, but to get the conversation moving. “She didn’t tell you because, for all intents and purposes, the Haruno clan doesn’t exist. What I’m about to tell you doesn’t leave this room – got it?”

Sakura sneaked a peak at her old sensei. He had his hands in his pockets as usual, mask pulled up over his nose, hitai-ate pulled over his eye. Despite his easy demeanour, Sakura could see the tension in body, the curiosity in his one visible eye.

Then he smiled. “Maa, maa, Tsunade-sama, who do you take me for?” When her gaze grew stormy, Kakashi grew solemn himself, and nodded. “Of course. I swear it on my blood, my father’s blood, and the blood of all my fallen brothers and sisters, that anything you say today will not leave this room.”

That was an ancient clan oath, although Kakashi butchered it a little. Still, Tsunade was happy with it, and leaned forward over the desk, generous breasts pushed up. She clasped her hands together. “The Haruno clan have a very special kekkei genkai,” she said. “One that Konoha has protected for many years and will continue to protect. However, this particular kekkei genkai shows only in some of its members: about one in one-hundred people.”

Kakashi hummed. “And… Sakura?”

Sakura finally spoke, finding she needed to clear her throat beforehand. Even still, her voice was hoarse from the alcohol and her own nerves alike. “I have it,” she said. “I’m… the first in… years.” She felt her eyes pinch and looked away from her them, though she still felt their scrutiny. “The first in so many years.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Kakashi asked. “Do you need help? Some protection?”

Tsunade scoffed. “My apprentice is more than capable of protecting herself. But,” she conceded, “we do need your help. Sakura’s kekkei genkai is delicate, Kakashi. It’s unlike any other. Sakura, would you like to tell him, or shall I?”

She felt too hot in her skin, and too cold in her lungs. Taking another swig of sake (before Tsunade swiped it off her with a frown), Sakura met Kakashi’s gaze, feeling her throat dry up all over again. With a quick glance at her mentor, who gave a nod, Sakura turned back to Kakashi.

“My kekkei genkai…” she started. “The best we can think of is that its to ensure the survival of powerful clans, because otherwise I can’t think of a single purpose it would serve. It… What I mean is…” Sakura sucked in a breath, and she was sure she was breaking the chair with the way she was desperately grasping at its edges. “W-When we come of age, we need… companionship. Harunos who have refused the call of the kekkei genkai before went insane, and slowly died. Others tried to satisfy it by marrying those of normal breeding,” she cringed on the word, “but the only way for the kekkei genkai to be fulfilled is marriage to a… to someone in a clan.”

You could hear a pin drop in the room. Kakashi was staring at her, expression open and searching, and Sakura could feel her heart thumping from her stomach right up into her throat. She thought she was going to be sick.

Then Kakashi said, “Well, that’s easy. I know all of Konoha’s suitable heirs are all engaged or otherwise taken but there are plenty of clans across the country–”

“Hatake!” snapped Tsunade. Sakura felt like she might faint. “Do you really think we’re just going to send Sakura off to some man’s home? Someone she doesn’t even know? How stupid and insensitive can you get?”

“Maa, maa, Tsunade, please,” implored Kakashi. “I care about Sakura just as much as you do, and I don’t want her to come to any harm, but all the eligible clan members in Konoha are accounted for! I just don’t see any other options…”

There it was, that same silence that made Sakura’s very spine squirm, her toes curling. She reached for the sake again and Tsunade didn’t stop her.

“Oh,” said Kakashi.

“Oh,” said Tsunade, a smirk pulling at her lips. “You are the last applicable bachelor in Konoha, Kakashi. And the only one Sakura could possibly trust. Of course, you can say no… but if you do, there’s a very good chance Sakura could die.”

Kakashi did not look at Sakura who was, at this point, entirely drunk. He simply nodded, his voice cracking as he said, “Well then, there’s only one answer, isn’t there?” He cleared his throat. “Why not just ask Naruto? Or Sasuke?”

“Sakura doesn’t wish to break apart their relationships. As I said, we have thought through every possible scenario. The marriage – and the kekkei genkai’s requirements therein – mean Sakura will be extremely vulnerable to whomever she marries. I know relations between the villages are better than they have ever been, but I will not send Sakura off to a foreign land, to a foreign clan, and leave her there to…” Tsunade’s fist clenched. “No, Kakashi, there is not another option.”

“Very well,” Kakashi said. “When’s the wedding?”

That was when Sakura threw up all over the floor.

~ 0 ~

They had the wedding the very next day, as early in the morning as they could. Tsunade, as Sakura’s shishou, and Minato, as Kakashi’s sensei, were the witnesses. Sakura was dressed in a white silk summer dress she’d had since she was sixteen and never had the occasion to wear; Kakashi wore a shirt and the trousers he’d worn on his last mission, and Sakura felt sadness deep inside of her, like stinging nettles tangled in her intestines.

“And now,” said the officiator, smiling, “with the blessing of the Great Tree of Konoha and our forefathers, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

It was the words Sakura had always wanted to hear – had always hoped to hear. She had never imagined them, however, resulting in her turning to her sensei and one of her oldest friends, and watching as he lowered his mask to reveal smooth, pink lips, and no hideous moles. And she had especially never imagined leaning into him, kissing him chastely on those lips, only for fire to shoot up her spine and burn at her tailbone; for her vision to swim and her heart to flutter, as the rosebud seal marking their union burnt into her flesh.

Sakura pulled back, eyelids heavy and cheeks flushed, and whispered, “Kakashi…” before collapsing into his arms.

She should have known, really, that the union would have been strong. Kakashi was the heir to a strong, ancient clan, and its last surviving member – the bond would have known that he, most of all, needed a loyal wife and children. That didn’t stop her from regaining herself moments later, cradled in Kakashi’s arms, and bemoaning her fate.

“Kakashi…” she said, and realised she had been saying it over and over since collapsing, her heart thundering against her breasts, breaths coming faster. “This is…”

The seal was still scalding her skin, dancing up her spine. She knew, next time she looked in the mirror, she’d see a thick, thorny stem crawling up the length of her back, topped by the dark rose between her shoulder blades. On one of the leaves, the Hatake clan symbol would be engraved. That especially stung, because although the seal felt so beautiful as it bloomed on her skin – so pleasant – she had always imagined the Uchiha crest resting upon one of those leaves, signifying her union to Sasuke.

But Sasuke had Ino. And Sakura was a Hatake now.

As though triggered, Sakura’s face flushed, heat pooling between her legs. She gasped and shifted in Kakashi’s arms, overcome, and barely heard Tsunade order Kakashi to take her home before the world warped, and she was placed down on an unfamiliar bed.

It smelled like Kakashi, she thought, turning her face into his pillow. She moaned as she inhaled, catching the soft scent of pine and nutmeg. Kakashi had been warned this would happen, but Sakura still felt the need to clarify: “I’m… I’m going into aphrodisia,” she gasped, shivers wracking her body.

Kakashi was looking down at her, his eyes solemn and sombre. “What do you want me to do?” he asked calmly.

Her whole body screamed for her to touch him, for him to touch her, for them to come together and _fuck_ like animals but… “I-It’ll pass,” she said, panting, and she didn’t realise she had slipped a hand under her dress and was touching herself. She was too overwhelmed to be embarrassed, but pulled her hand away quickly, blinking rapidly to gain control of herself. “I’m sure it’ll pass.”

“Sakura…” started Kakashi, and she knew that tone so well it hurt.

“No, Kakashi,” she said. “I need to try this. Please, just…” She inhaled shakily. “Just let me try.”

Kakashi’s eyes shut, his expression closed. He turned from her, heading to the door. “I’ll get you a glass of water,” he said.

He did get her the glass of water, but that was the last she saw of him for hours.

~ 0 ~

Sakura was in agony. One moment, she was burning alive, screaming under the unbelievable _torture_ – then, the next, she was freezing, her very bones chattering together. All she could smell was Kakashi’s pillow, and all she could think of was his face, and his eyes, and his hands, and his neck and his torso and his arms and _oh, kami-_

She felt these things through another’s perspective, as though she weren’t actually there. She knew, realistically, she was having an out-of-body experience, as many of her patients claimed to encounter under great pain; but Sakura could barely pay attention to rational thought. All she had done for hours was drink and drink and drink but still, she felt unbelievably thirsty, unable to satisfy herself.

It was hard not to wonder what she looked like, writhing on that bed, cheeks red, hair in disarray. She knew her dress had ridden up; knew her knickers were loose around her thighs, the smell of her many orgasms lingering in the air. Gods, she could not satisfy herself, not for anything.

And then, like a breath of fresh air, Kakashi appeared, and Sakura moaned heartily, reaching for him with trembling hands. “Kaka-Kakashi…” She was sobbing, and she didn’t even realise. “Please, Kakashi, please,” she begged, “make it stop.”

His eyes were dark, so dark, as they stared down at her. She licked her lips under his gaze, lost to all but him, and felt her breath hitch as he reached out to push her sweaty hair from her face. “I’m so sorry,” he said, and when Sakura would look back on this moment, she would hear it – the sorrow, the resignation – in his voice, but as it was, Sakura on the bed barely heard him.

Behind him, there was Tsunade, who stormed forward, muttering scathing remarks to the girl who could not hear her. “Of all the stupid…!” she was saying. “… Can’t reject… Could have died…” And then she looked to Kakashi, having healed Sakura of burns and scratches and all awful things, and told him what he needed to do. Then she shunshin’d away, and Sakura was left alone with Kakashi, and she could barely contain herself.

“It’s so _bad…_ ” she hiccupped, and he grabbed her hand as she extended it to him. “I didn’t realise what it would be like… But I _need_ you, sensei, please…”

Kakashi cringed, and for a moment Sakura felt so hurt she could barely stand it, but then he leaned down and, hesitantly, kissed the side of her mouth. Sakura felt her breaths turn shallow, inhaling his scent, feeling his warmth against her cheek. A part of her revolted, screaming and crying, but the other part relished in it, throwing herself up at him to claim his lips in a true, passionate kiss.

He barely responded, but just having him there was good enough for Sakura, who rubbed her breasts up against him with a short whine. Her hands tangled in his wild hair and she pulled him closer, feeling satisfied when his hesitant hands lifted to hold her waist. After a moment of Sakura pulling at his hitai-ate, she flung it away, and began kissing lines from his mouth to his neck, where she mouthed at his tan skin.

“Sakura…” Kakashi warned, but she could feel his elevated pulse and the way his fingers pressed into her hips. He was enjoying it, and Sakura felt a flash of victory, panting against the suddenly unbearable need to be one with him.

She pulled her dress off and paid no mind where it landed, then began fumbling with Kakashi’s trousers. With steady hands, Kakashi pushed her back and began methodically removing his shirt and trousers himself, and then his underwear.

“Lie down,” he said, gruffly, and Sakura did as asked, eyes blown wide with lust.

“Please,” she whimpered, when he did nothing more than hover over her.

He hesitated for a second more, but she could see his erection, and felt flushed with pride knowing he found her so tempting. “Do you consent?” he asked, positioning himself so that he could slide inside her with ease. “Sakura,” he prompted, when all she did was stare at him, eyelashes fluttering.

“Y- _yes_ ,” she said. “Please.”

Kakashi did push inside her then, after removing her underwear. It was sweet, and it was _breath-taking_ , and Sakura could barely breathe for the pure satisfaction that swelled inside her. She let out one long, ragged moan, fingernails biting into his biceps. Kakashi, too, gave a short gasp as she adjusted to him. Once she writhed impatiently, he began to thrust, one after the other, and gaining speed.

Sakura could not help the cries and keens that broke from her mouth; with her legs looped around Kakashi’s strong shoulders, she pushed even closer to him, so that he slid in deeper. He swore, and she moaned, one hand fisted in the bedsheets, the other travelling down to play with her clit.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Kakashi hissed as she came, and her walls clenched around him. Still, Sakura thought Kakashi might have been more lucid than she thought, for his eyes were overcast when he came inside her, crying out, thrusting forward…

It wasn’t until later that Sakura finally regained her senses. She had spent the last few hours neck-deep in covers, shivering and shaking against Kakashi’s warm body as he murmured comforting words into her hair. She had risked much to hold off the pairing, just to see if it was avoidable, which of course it was not. Even the great seal masters of Uzushio could not crack the kekkei genkai, and Sakura should have known better than to try.

In the aftermath, feeling like herself again, Sakura met Kakashi’s eyes, her cheeks a furious red. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, as though unable to find the words. All at once, Sakura felt overwhelmed with it all. She turned away from her husband, muffling her sniffles against her hand. Kakashi was kind enough to remain silent and simply lie there next to her, a solid support.

She appreciated him more than she could say in that moment, but she also despised him more than words could express.

~ 0 ~

“So, you and Kakashi-sensei, eh, Sakura-chan?!” Naruto asked one day, when they’d all met up for drinks. His arm was looped over Hinata’s shoulders, who was smiling up at him. “I thought it was _gross_ at first but Hinata told me she’d always seen it happenin’ and thought you guys had been having secret meetings ever since you turned eighteen.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Is it true?”

Despite herself, Sakura flushed up to her ears, and indulged herself in her cocktail.

“Oh my _god_ ,” said Ino. “It IS true! No wonder your wedding was so secretive.” She huffed. “I wanted to be a bridesmaid.”

Sakura looked her best friend and shrugged sadly. “Sorry, Ino,” she said, her heart aching. She had wanted that, too. “I promise to be there for your wedding.”

“You better be!” Ino said. “Sasuke wants to get married as soon as possible to rebuild the Uchiha clan or something.” She rolled her eyes, but her smile was telling. “Figures.”

“Yeah,” said Sakura, softly. “Figures.”

Her words went unheard, for Naruto said at that same moment, “Where the heck is the teme, anyway?!”

Ino waved off the question, turning to Sakura with mirth in her eyes. “C’mon, Sakura, you’ve kept it a secret for years. You’ve _gotta_ give us the juicy details. What’s he like in bed? What’s he look like without the mask?”

“Uh,” Sakura said. “Uh, I don’t–” Her stomach was roiling again, as it did most days when she thought about her sens– er, husband. “I don’t know.”

They were all staring at her. Shikamaru and Neji and Tenten and Ino and Hinata and Naruto and _Oh, Kami,_ where was all the air? Her heart plummeted to her stomach and she pressed her shaking hand to her neck, feeling for her pulse. They were throwing questions at her, laughing and smiling and _happy_ , and Sakura shoved herself up from the table, head spinning.

“Excuse me,” she said weakly. Immediately, Ino and Naruto were there, piling her with their concern but she simply forced a laugh and said, “Don’t worry, I think I’m just tired!” And the jokes started again, jokes about newlyweds and never leaving the bedroom, and Sakura was all too happy to let them think whatever they wished as she stumbled outside.

It had been about three weeks since her wedding, and things with Kakashi were… improving, marginally. They ate dinner together now, unlike in the first week, and yesterday they had even laughed together as though nothing had changed. It was nice, to think things were the same.

Frustration rising, Sakura rose from where she was leaning against the wall of the pub and swore, fist connecting with the brick. Nothing was the same, she had to remind herself. She’d fucked her sensei and married him, and they were connected until the end of time, thanks to this stupid kekkei genkai…

Cradling her bleeding fist, Sakura shot it full of some healing chakra, not caring if she hurt herself. Maybe she was turning into a bit of a masochist.

It was in this state that Naruto’s father and ex-Hokage, Minato Namikaze, found her. She was ashamed to say it was not the first time he’d found her in such a state. “Sakura,” he said, with surprise. “Why aren’t you inside with the others?”

“I-I’m just....” Her voice cracked, and she realised she was barely holding back tears. “It’s nothing. Please excuse me…”

“Hey,” said Minato. He grabbed for her wrist and she flinched, so he held his hands up in surrender. “Hey, Sakura. It’s okay. Are you all right? You look ashen.”

Well, that might have something to do with the fact her blood had pooled into her feet, but it was hard to tell. “I’m fine,” she said, before realising this man had witnessed the only wedding she would ever have in her life – that miserable affair – and could no longer hold the tears at bay. “Minato-san…”

He smiled kindly, blue eyes shining with concern. “Come with me, Sakura. Let’s make you one of the famous Namikaze hot chocolates.”

Minato had always been one of Sakura’s strongest supporters, and was the person she turned to for advice, other than Kakashi and Tsunade. He withheld judgement, made excellent conclusions, and had an airs about him that soothed Sakura’s soul. Whenever she felt she wasn’t good enough, staring at Naruto’s and Sasuke’s backs, Minato would be there to help her along.

She felt even more at home in his house than she did her own, and that was saying something.

“Now,” he said, as they settled on his sofa, two mugs of hot chocolate sat on the table in front of them. “Want to tell me what this is about?”

Sakura could not meet his eyes. “I don’t know if you’re the best person to talk to about this…”

His smile was soft as he put an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his chest for a hug. “This is about Kakashi, then? Are you not happy with your marriage?”

“T-That’s not it,” Sakura said. “Kakashi has been wonderful to me…”

And it was true. He had given her space, helped her move into the compound, and allowed her a private bedroom (although it was pointless, because she grew very ill if she did not sleep with him, they soon discovered). Despite all he did to make her feel welcome and give her time to adjust, Sakura still felt so lost in his ancestral home, so lonely. But that was not his fault.

“Then what is it?” Minato prodded gently. He handed her one of the mugs, and she smiled gratefully, taking a sip.

“Well… You know, about why we had to do this…” She trailed off, and Minato nodded. “I just… I always knew this would have to happen, that I would have to marry a man to sate my kekkei genkai, but I always thought I would get to choose who. I thought that…”

“You thought you would end up with Sasuke,” Minato finished, and the look he gave her was sympathetic. “Perhaps even Naruto.”

“I love them both,” she said. “Either would have been a great choice but… they found someone before I even had a chance. Even Sasuke. I had loved him since I was a girl, but he never saw me.”

Minato sighed. He leaned back on the sofa, and she slotted under his arm, grateful for his support. They sipped at their drinks in comfortable silence, before Minato said, “It’s not an ideal situation, I know, Sakura. But as far as husbands go, forced or not, Kakashi is a good man, and one you’re familiar with. He loves you, and you him. I’m sure some aspects of this bond are… trying for you–” Sakura shocked herself with a bitter laugh, “–but they are also trying for Kakashi. All of this is.”

“What?” asked Sakura. She shot up, and some of her hot chocolate spilt on her top, but she didn’t care. “Has he talked to you?”

“I’m his sensei, Sakura,” said Minato, with a small smile. “Kakashi is finding this arrangement as trying as you are, I’m sure.”

Sakura laughed again, and it was just as caustic as her previous. “He doesn’t have to deal with the demands this _bond_ is forcing on me,” she said. “The way it influences me; the way it tells me how to feel and what to do, and threatens me with pain and death until I stop resisting… It’s torture.”

Minato frowned at her. “Sakura, Kakashi feels drawn to you, unlike anything he’s ever felt. The bond is greatly influencing him. I _told_ him to tell you.” He paused, looking displeased, but shook it off. “Those days where you tried to sleep without each other were some of the worst times I’ve ever seen Kakashi go through – he was restless, unkempt, jumpy. And, after your marriage, when you rejected consummation,” Sakura blushed and turned from him, “Kakashi came here, angry as anything, smashing what he could and ranting about restraint and pain. He was mostly angry because he could see how the kekkei genkai was punishing you, as he got Pukkun to guard you before he left. It was only when Pakkun reported that you were starting to blister from the violence of your chakra, and scratch yourself, that Kakashi got Tsunade and returned to your side.”

Looking back at Minato, Sakura felt her mouth turn dry, felt the hurt in her heart ease. “He really did that?” she asked. “The bond is really affecting him?”

“Yes, of course.” Minato was looking at her curiously, and the picture he made with cream lining his upper lip after taking a sip of his drink made Sakura giggle. He laughed too and wiped it away after realising, then said, “Why didn’t you know he was going to be affected? Surely your family would have left you something about it?”

“Well…” Sakura bit her lip. “After – after the Kyubi attack, when my parents died, all the documents left from previous members with the kekkei genkai were destroyed. I only know what I do because my mum kept some notes of it in her bedroom. She was studying them, having realised that I had the gift because of my hair.” She shrugged under Minato’s inquisitive stare. “Only Harunos with the kekkei genkai have pink hair.”

“I see,” Minato replied. “Did you find out anything else from these notes?”

“Only that there’s meant to be some sort of powerful advantage to the kekkei genkai, especially if the bond is strong,” as hers was with Kakashi, “but I don’t know what it is. It was only mentioned briefly.”

They pondered that information for a while, finishing their drinks. Conversation swayed away from Sakura’s troubles, and she found herself simply enjoying Minato’s company, laughing and chatting with him. They talked briefly about his new genin team, who were apparently proving to be a handful, and how the remnants of Orochimaru’s followers were being gathered up and dealt with. When it was time to go, Sakura stood, collecting her coat. As parting words, Minato turned to her with a serious gaze, hands on her shoulders.

“Sakura,” he started. “I know you’re struggling, but Kakashi is, too. You two are good friends, and I’d hate to see your relationship deteriorate because of circumstance. Please give him a chance – give your marriage a chance.” Sakura went to protest, but Minato cut her off, shaking his head. “Kushina was my greatest joy and friend. She was brave, and loyal, and fiercely protective of those around her. I see Kakashi in her, in some ways. You know he is a good man. He is not trying to take advantage of you, and it is killing him that it has come to this. Try to make the best of a bad situation, ne, Sakura-chan? A spouse is one of the best friends and lightest spots you will ever have in life, and I think that, if you and Kakashi try, you could really shine.”

~ 0 ~

Sakura had been ruminating over Minato’s words for days, acting carefully around Kakashi, but no longer feeling the same rush of resentment towards him that she usually felt. As suggested, she sought Kakashi out, playing games of shogi with him or talking about books, or Kakashi’s assignments. He hadn’t been given one since their marriage to allow the bond to settle but he would soon be sent back to the field, and Sakura back to the hospital.

It was approaching the end of the month when Sakura felt the same pull, the same heat, that she’d felt the day of her wedding with Kakashi. That meant only one thing…. Another aphrodisia was approaching, this time because they had not had sex since that first time, and the bond was forcing it.

Damn it, but Sakura didn’t know if she could do it again.

As though he felt it, Kakashi walked into her bedroom at that moment, mask pulled down. “Is – is that…?”

Sakura nodded, gasping through a wave of lust. “A-Aphrodisia,” she said. “We need to…”

And Kakashi nodded, mouth tight, although his visible pupil was wide. “I’m sorry,” he said, looking away from her as she stripped herself of her shorts. “I wish we didn’t…”

“It’s fine, Kakashi,” Sakura said, although she wasn’t sure if it was true. “Please, just… Let’s do it, before the pain starts.”

Kakashi nodded again, this time with resolve. Sakura, although she had seen him with his mask down before, only really noticed it at that moment. He was mind-numbingly handsome, actually, with an almost delicate look to his features, his signature scar scoring down his cheek. She felt her mouth water, and she wasn’t sure it was because of the aphrodisia.

Either way, sex was inevitable, whether they wanted it or not. So, they did it, as quickly and as quietly as possible, and dressed in much the same fashion.

Due to that occurrence, Sakura and Kakashi decided to have sex on a weekly basis to try and stave off the aphrodisia, although it was mechanical and cold. The first time they did it, Sakura excused herself to the bathroom afterwards to clean up, and she was so _sick_ of crying but did it anyway.

Having realised they needed to be in close proximity of each other, Tsunade said that Kakashi could no longer take long missions away and had to remain close to Konoha. Oddly, he seemed relieved by the fact, and it was only in retrospect that Sakura realised she had actually _felt_ his relief as if it were her own.

In the middle of preparing dinner, she paused, and the plate she was holding crashed to the floor.

“Sakura?” asked Kakashi, rushing into the room. He ran to her and checked her over for injury, sharingan displayed. “What is it? Is it the bond? What’s happening?”

“H-how long have you been feeling my emotions?” she asked, her voice hoarse. “A few days? Weeks? Since the _beginning?”_

Kakashi stood upright, pulling his hitae-ate down. “Well, you know…” he hedged. He started picking up the broken pieces of porcelain. “A week or two, maybe. Since we started…”

“Having sex?” Sakura thought on that. “You’re right. I’ve been getting faint feelings, and they always seem to come out of nowhere.”

He wasn’t looking at her, but Kakashi hummed his agreement. “And just then, I felt this odd pain in my hand, like I’d been cut.” He stood up then, leaving the porcelain in a pile, and gently grasped her hand. “Did you know this happened?”

She looked down. There was a fairly large slice through the meatiest part of her palm, by her thumb. She frowned down at it, then looked back to Kakashi. “You felt that?” she asked.

He nodded.

“Huh,” she said. Maybe that was the power her mother’s old notes referred to.

It was hardly anything exciting.

~ 0 ~

A full four months after the wedding, Sakura finally saw Sasuke for the first time. She had just finished a shift at the hospital and was making her way home when she saw him in the distance, hovering near the entrance to the training grounds. As though he were waiting for her.

“Sasuke!” she gasped and ran at him with joy. He caught her as she flew at him, laughing and crying and too relieved to feel anything but happiness. “Where have you been!?”

Sasuke’s dark eyes inspected her, then he looked away to one side, pushing her away. “Hn. You’ve lost weight.”

“What?” Sakura looked down at herself. It was only in the face of her childhood love that she saw what a mess she looked, and that her figure had lost some of the suppleness it had when she last saw him. “Oh.”

“Whatever.” He turned from her, into the training grounds. “You coming?”

Of course she was. She followed him dutifully, although with a bit less enthusiasm. Her heart still felt light at their reunion, however, and she could barely stop the desperate urge to plough him with questions on where he had been. He stopped at the training ground they frequented when they were Team 7, and Sakura smiled at the rush of memories, looking out to the lake.

“Not that it’s not lovely,” she started, “but why are we here?”

Sasuke glanced at her, lips pursed, then looked back out to the lake, which was glistening under the light of the late sun. “Kakashi,” he said, and Sakura’s heart jerked. “Why?”

The _one person_ that Sakura found it hard to lie to had to ask her that. None of the others had even bat an eyelash, but of course he had not believed the rumours. Of course it had to be him to ask her this question.

It just _had_ to be.

“We’ve been… in love,” her voice wavered, “for a few years now. Since I turned 21 this year, it felt like the right time to get married.”

It was silent for a moment as Sasuke considered her words, then at last he turned to her with a scoff. “Do you really expect me to believe you were falling in love with him while pining for me?”

Sakura wriggled. A crow cawed overhead. “I just… I didn’t think I had a chance,” she whispered. “I didn’t think you wanted me. So I… I went to him.”

As far as lies went, it wasn’t so bad; at that time, Sasuke had started pursuing Ino, and hadn’t shown an ounce of interest in Sakura. It made sense for her to turn her attentions to Kakashi, one of the only other men she loved and trusted deeply.

Still, Sasuke stared at her with his staunch gaze. “You... didn’t think you had a chance?”

She didn’t know why or what or how, but suddenly, Sakura was _angry_. She was so angry she wanted to smash his _stupid_ head into the ground, and curse him for rejecting her, for not being her husband, for abandoning her to the mercy of her kekkei genkai.

“ _Yes_ , Sasuke, of course I didn’t!” she snapped. “You and Ino were fucking each other like wild dogs by the time I turned 18, after I waited years for you to return from hunting down your brother; after I saved myself for you _for years_ , thinking you loved me, thinking we’d be together.” She laughed bitterly, only now realising that she had no reason to hate Kakashi, no reason to resent him, when all he did was support and help her.

Her true resentment should have been aimed at the absolute _asshole_ in front of her, who let her love and pine for him for years, encouraged her, then dropped her like a hat for Ino. He broke her heart and she _still_ loved him, forgave him like it was nothing. She was nothing but a fool, and he her master, toying with her for his amusement. And, to top it off, when she needed all her friends and their support after her wedding, he _disappeared._

“Fuck you, Sasuke,” spat Sakura, aiming her sharp glower at him for the first time in her life. “Just… fuck you.”

Sasuke’s eyes were burning, but she didn’t know with what. His gaze was fixed, his mouth upturned in a smirk, and before she could shout at him again, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in close.

Sakura gasped, her heart thudding.

“Now _that_ ,” Sasuke said, “was what I always liked about you.”

And then he was kissing her, and Sakura melted, her pulse like a hum in her veins. Sasuke kissed insistently, harshly, and it was so different to what she was used to – but she was finally kissing Sasuke, and wasn’t that enough…? Then she thought of Kakashi, her husband, and she felt sick, and pain shot up her spine and _oh, kami_ , she had to _stop_ –

At that moment, a pair of hands ripped her from Sasuke, and she was dizzied as saw Kakashi stood in front of her.

“Sasuke,” he said, stiffly.

Sakura’s heart was thumping in her chest. She looked up at Kakashi, at the strong set of his shoulders, at the way he gripped her arm protectively… And, of all things, she felt lust shoot through her like wildfire. Kakashi jolted and looked back at her, grip tightening. She felt his own lust rear its head and went weak-kneed.

“Kakashi,” said Sasuke, and he was smirking. “I believe you’re interrupting.”

Oh, kami. Sakura felt sick. Had she really kissed him?

Had she enjoyed it?

Kakashi growled, and it was at times like this that Sakura was reminded just why his summons were a pack of dogs. “All I could see was you forcing yourself on a taken woman, Sasuke. Get out of here before I get _really_ mad.”

“I can protect myself and my honour just fine, Kakashi!” snapped Sakura. A small part of her revelled in having him there for her, looking out for her, protecting what was… what was _his_.

Yes, because Sakura was well and truly Kakashi’s, she realised, as he was hers. She hadn’t enjoyed Sasuke’s kiss and, looking at him now… She felt her love for him dissipate, as though it had never existed all along.

Sasuke looked at her with his dark eyes again as though Kakashi wasn’t even there. “Yes, Sakura, you can,” he said. “And that’s what I should have realised when I was trying to decide between you and Ino... but I realise it now. You and I would have heirs that would make the Uchiha proud. Come with me. Leave him. And I’ll prove to you that I love you.”

Kakashi’s grip tightened, and this time Sakura felt her knees wobble for an entirely different reason. She looked at Sasuke, and all she felt was such sorrow.

“Don’t lie to me,” she whispered. “Just… Go be with Ino. I won’t tell her about this. She loves you, and god-damnit, you owe it to her to try.” She paused. “I feel sorry for you, Sasuke. I hope that one day you truly do find love and peace… but it won’t be with me.”

Although he looked like he wanted to protest, Sasuke said nothing as Sakura turned to Kakashi and grabbed his hand. “Let’s go, Kakashi,” she said, and whisked them away in a powerful shunshin, reappearing in their house.

The both of them looked at each other in silence, holding hands even then. Sakura gulped, lowering her eyes in shame. “I-I’m sorry, Kakashi,” she said. “I don’t… I hadn’t seen him in months, and then he kissed me, and… the _pain_ … All I could think of was you.” Her voice cracked. “I didn’t like it. I promise. I…”

“I don’t blame you,” said Kakashi.

Sakura’s head snapped up, eyes reuniting with his, hope bubbling inside of her. “You... don’t’?”

“No,” said Kakashi. “He came on to you. You were forced into this marriage. And you’ve loved him since…” His jaw tightened and he looked away. “Well, I’m sorry for breaking you apart.”

There was another beat of silence, and then Sakura said. “You misunderstand. I don’t… I don’t love him anymore.”

Now it was Kakashi’s turn to be surprised. “What?” he said.

“I don’t love him anymore.” Sakura breathed out deeply through her nose, her long hair swaying at her waist as she took a step towards Kakashi, her _husband_. “I don’t think I’ve loved him since he chose Ino back then, without even talking to me about it. It made me see that he didn’t care about me.” She swallowed dryly. “I just didn’t want to admit it.”

Kakashi’s mask had loosened but he didn’t correct it, letting it fall from his face. “And earlier, when you saw me… That was…?”

Sakura knew she was red, right up to her ears, but just thinking about how strong and forceful and protective Kakashi had been, how handsome and harsh he had looked, sent another shot of arousal through her and this time Kakashi took a step closer to her, so close that their chests touched.

“It’s hard enough feeling your lust,” he said, a bit breathless, “but _smelling_ it, too…”

Sakura whimpered. She leant in towards him, breathing him in, feeling his warmth. He was so handsome, his body so strong and muscled, skin pure and tan… “Kakashi,” she breathed.

Hesitantly, he reached up and cupped her face in his hands, his thumb brushing hair from her cheek. Then, after Sakura only stared up at him through her long lashes and wet her lips, he leaned in, eyes closing…

This was nothing like any of their other kisses. This was wild, uncontrollable, _real_. Sakura’s inside felt like they would burst, her blood raging like a charging army through her veins. The kiss was soft but grew harder, and Kakashi’s hands were in her hair, pulling, and she mewled, pressing closer. The bond seemed to reward her for enjoying this contact with him, for the seal warmed pleasantly on her skin, and she gasped.

“ _Fuck_ , Sakura,” Kakashi said, and heat pooled between her legs, her clit throbbing. “You have no idea how hard it’s been.”

Sakura shut him up with another kiss, jumping up into his arms, strong legs wrapping around his trim waist. She could already tell she was unreasonably wet as she trailed bruising kisses to his neck before biting down at the junction of his shoulder.

Kakashi groaned, and Sakura was slammed against a wall. Feeling each other’s arousal licked the fire that was their own, and it was as agonising as it was delectable. Kakashi’s lust felt like a hammer knocking at her skull, insisting to be recognised, and Sakura welcomed it. She pulled away from the hickey she had spawned on his skin, smashing her lips to his again in a kiss that drew the breath from her lungs.

“Bed,” she gasped out. Kakashi was rolling one of her nipples between his fingers, his teeth nipping her bottom lip. “ _Please_.”

With Sakura still held in his arms, Kakashi stumbled into the bedroom and dropped them both on the bed. Sakura found herself the victim of Kakashi’s mouth as it worked down her pale throat. He ripped off her tunic and tights and continued his ministrations down her body to her heaving breasts, which felt hot and heavy under the force of her desire. He sucked on one pert nipple, flicking it with his tongue, before making his way down her flat stomach to her most private area, wherein he pulled her knickers aside and tongued at her clit.

“Oh _fuck_ , _Kakashi!_ ”

Kakashi chuckled lowly, breath fanning across her thighs. He ripped her knickers off, uncaring where their remains landed, and sucked her clitoris into his mouth. Sakura’s thighs clenched on either side of his head as she moaned, bucking up into his mouth. He pinned her down, swirling his tongue around her clit over and over, and all at once, Sakura’s orgasm hit her. She saw stars through her blackened vision as she came crying Kakashi’s name, body tensed as it lifted from the bed. Kakashi seemed to feel her orgasm too, for he shuddered and moaned, and then he was pulling his clothes off and positioning himself at her entrance.

“Wait!” Sakura said and Kakashi froze immediately as though afraid, but Sakura simply flipped them over so that she was the one on top. She smiled deviously at his shocked look, wriggling against his erection. “ _My_ _turn_.”

He slid in easily when she lowered herself on him. At this angle, he felt so much bigger, filling her right to the brim. Her lust returned full force and she moaned, long and loud, as she rested her palms on Kakashi’s muscled stomach and pushed herself up, then slammed back down.

Kakashi swore and clutched at Sakura’s hips, fingers digging in so tightly she’d bruise, and she _loved_ it. He met her thrust for thrust as she curled her back and leant down towards him, sensitive nipples brushing against his chest, hot breaths intermingling. She could feel the way his heart hammered, saw the sweat that beaded on his forehead as he arched up towards her, growling at his lack of control.

It was his turn to flip them then, and he mercilessly fucked her on her hands and knees, grip still tight. “You feel so good, Sakura,” he said, his voice low and ragged. “ _Fuck._ ”

Sakura was going to come again: she could feel it coiling inside of her, ready to explode. She pushed back against him and reached down to thumb her clit, only to be swatted away by Kakashi with a possessive growl, who pinched and rubbed at it himself. Lost to their moans, they both came at once, Kakashi’s hard thrusts finishing them; he pushed into her again and again, even after he’d come, riding out the force of both of their orgasms.

Sakura felt dizzy. Feeling yourself come was one thing; feeling the orgasm of another at the same time was _extraordinary_.

They collapsed at once, Kakashi rolling to the side so as not to land on her.

“That was _insane_ ,” she said, once her breathing had calmed down. Her hair was tangled underneath her, cheeks pink, legs shaking. “I felt everything you felt and– you were–”

Kakashi laughed a slow and rumbly laugh, and Sakura felt pleasant shivers roll up her spine. “Yeah.” He was quiet for a moment as he let the afterglow settle, but then said, “Aah… I _am_ sorry for interrupting earlier, Sakura. When I saw you two, I just couldn’t help it.”

“You’re affected by the bond too, Kakashi. It probably urged you to do something.” Sakura smiled. “Besides, I am your wife.”

He laughed again, and it washed over her like warm water in winter. “A married man, hm? Never thought I’d see the day.”

“Yeah, well, if the women of the world knew what you could do…” Sakura cleared her throat, feeling somehow embarrassed. “That thing with your tongue, I mean.”

“Maa, maa, Sakura, you flatter me.” When he turned towards her, his gaze was sultry, lingering on her mouth and body. “I thought you would like that.”

Sakura felt a jolt of arousal at his hot tone, and Kakashi groaned, falling flat on his back. “Fuck, Sakura, you’re going to kill me,” he said, as though he wasn’t getting aroused, too.

“Do you think…” Sakura licked her lips. “Are you up for a second round?”

Kakashi grinned. “Well, since you asked so very nicely…”

~ 0 ~

The nature of their marriage changed. They were still friends – and only friends – but they fucked like there was no tomorrow, hot and heavy, _every single day_. They grew closer, reading each other’s unspoken signals and acting as a single unit. And the bond seemed to be growing stronger, too.

Sakura first noticed it’s strength when Kakashi had gone training with Gai, and she felt every hit that he took. It had fiercely interrupted her work in the lab and Shizune, with a roll of her eyes, told her to just go home – she couldn’t even pipette properly. Sakura herself had told Kakashi off for that, but he had joked about being a distraction and, well, it all went downhill from there.

After that, there were many times where each other’s pain or emotions exacerbated even the simplest of tasks, but they soon got better at controlling themselves and learning to block it out when needed.

Then _the incident_ happened, and Sakura knew how Kakashi had felt all those weeks ago, when he had seen her kissing Sasuke. It started when she was home alone one evening, reading a book. Kakashi had gone out to the pub with Gemna a couple of hours prior, and Sakura was quite happy for some time alone, when suddenly the seal on her back began to tingle. It was followed by a horrible sickness – something malevolent churning in her gut – and an unbearable _fury_ corroding her throat.

In the mere seconds it took for Sakura to register the feelings, she was suddenly at Kakashi’s side, pulled there by an unknown force. The sight that met her made her blood rush hot, and she was seething, hands clenched into fists at her side.

Kakashi was sat at the bar, drink in hand, Gemna sat beside him. Her husband looked bored, and it may have been because of the woman who stood in front of him, laughing, _flirting_ , hand touching his bicep.

“I’m married,” Kakashi said, lazily, shooting a look to Gemna.

Gemna chuckled but nodded, taking a swig of beer. “That he is,” he agreed.

“So?” said the woman, a foreign shinobi from Kiri. “I’m a big girl. I’m sure I could handle her. I _am_ a jounin, you know…”

Her hand was lowering, and Sakura saw red. She stormed forward, her pulse a booming war song, the seal on her back urging her to _do something_. The shock on all their faces when Sakura appeared and ripped the woman’s hand from Kakashi pleased her, but not enough. She found herself saying, “And I’m the Hokage’s apprentice, _bitch_ , but you don’t see me throwing myself at married men with threats to beat up their wives.” Then she paused, and when she smiled, it was all teeth. “But I _do_ threaten woman who touch what’s mine, so kindly remove yourself before I do it for you.”

The woman laughed. “You’re just a kid,” she said. “And a medic nin, at that.”

Sakura tried to calm down, but the _seal_ , it was burning, and she wanted to be sick, and the rage inside of her was unlike anything she had ever known. “ _Listen–_ ” she snarled, and the seal flared, and suddenly the woman staggered backwards, hand on her mouth.

Sakura grinned ferally, unperturbed, but then Kakashi’s arms were around her, his breath against her ear. “Sakura,” he murmured. “Calm down. I’m safe, you’re safe, and _nothing happened_ between us _._ ”

Instantly, Sakura did, his words a cooling wind. She scowled at the woman’s back as she scuttled off, and then realised the entire bar was quiet, staring at her. “W-What?” she asked, turning to Kakashi. “I just–”

“You were glowing,” he said. “Pink chakra all around you, your hair standing up as though electrified. Your eyes…” He looked at her, and she suddenly realised how dishevelled he looked, his eyes heavy with lust and inebriation. “Your eyes were pink, too. Dark.”

“T-The seal…?” she said.

“Probably,” said Kakashi. Behind him, Gemna coughed, and Sakura turned to look at the man, flushing with embarrassment.

“I-I’m so sorry for interrupting,” she babbled. “I just felt– I saw–” Everyone in the pub was still staring at her, so she turned to them, her anger returning. “ _What?”_ she snapped, and they all returned to their business, quickly resuming conversation.

Gemna whistled, low and long. “You are… something,” he said, eyes shining with admiration. “You should’ve married me, Sakura. I could give you a good time.”

“Not a chance,” said Kakashi, pulling Sakura closer towards him. “But he’s right. You are certainly…” The rest of his sentence was left unsaid, but the desire that flared inside of him was unmistakeable.

Her mouth went dry from the way he was looking at her. She licked her lips, eyelashes fluttering, and said, “Home…?”

Kakashi needn’t be asked twice. “Later, Gemna,” he said, and they were gone in the blink of an eye.

Gemna, now alone, huffed. That Sakura was crazy, he thought; but then he smirked, and found himself conceding that Kakashi sure was one lucky bastard.

~ 0 ~

They spent many weeks at the training grounds after that, trying to replicate the effects from that day. Sakura attempted to mimic the feeling her seal had given off with little success, but she was getting there. It was on one of these days, wherein Sakura aimed punches at Kakashi with her unimaginable strength and he dodged while turning pages in his book, that Naruto and Sasuke appeared.

Sakura didn’t sense them at first, so tied up in trying to activate her seal, when suddenly there was a shout from behind her. “Wow! Sakura-chan, cool tattoo!”

Kakashi caught her wrist as she turned in shock, almost whacking him in the face. She had forgotten she was wearing a crop top, so her lower back – and thus, part of the seal – was on display. She suddenly felt as pink as the hair she released from its ponytail, using it to cover some of her back.

“Oh, h-hey!” Sakura said. She was glad Kakashi was at her side. “What are you guys doing here?”

Naruto shrugged. “Sasuke said he wanted to talk to you, and I said I’d come, no matter how many times he punched me for it.” His smile was beaming and, despite herself, Sakura laughed.

Kakashi’s hand was trailing through her long hair which, in the seven months they had been married, had grown almost to her hips. His motion was out of sight of Naruto and Sasuke’s vision – for all they knew, Kakashi was just reading _Icha Icha_ , as normal – but Sakura felt oddly nervous about it anyway.

“Kakashi and I were just training. Weren’t we, Kakashi?” Sakura elbowed him discretely and he grunted.

“Oh, yeah,” he agreed. “Training.”

Sasuke looked unimpressed. “What’s with the tattoo?”

“Oh, er,” Sakura looked at Kakashi, who was absolutely no help, and turned to face the inquisitive eyes of Naruto and Sasuke. “Well, instead of rings, Kakashi and I got… tattoos?”

There was a silence, in which Sasuke stared at her incredulously, and Naruto’s mouth flopped open. Then, Naruto exclaimed, “That’s SO AWESOME! Maybe Hinata and I should do that when we get married, dattebayo!”

Sakura laughed, but then Sasuke harrumphed, and said, “A bit permanent, isn’t it?”

The laughter drained from the air. Naruto slapped Sasuke’s arm, but he was unrepentant, so Kakashi stepped in. “Maa, maa, Sasuke, I don’t think it’s more permanent than marriage, is it?”

And Sasuke flushed despite himself as Naruto cheered on his sensei, and Sakura smiled. She hadn’t seen Naruto or the gang as much since her marriage to Kakashi but, well, it was to be expected – they were all busy with their own lives. Still, she missed them dearly, and made a note to talk to them more.

“Sakura,” said Sasuke, interrupting her thoughts, “a word?”

The forced casualness of their encounter thus far cracked a little, but Kakashi smiled, pushing on her lower back. “Go on, Sakura. I’ll try not to get too lonely without you.”

Sasuke snorted, but Naruto said, “I’ll keep you company, sensei!”

“Aah, my cute student!” Kakashi said. “Thanks, Naruto.”

As Sakura followed Sasuke off to one side, Naruto started barraging Kakashi with questions about his tattoo, and Sakura grinned. Served him right, she thought. Still, Sasuke was looking at her, having stopped under a tree about one hundred yards from the boys, so she pushed her amusement down.

“What?” she asked, arms crossed over her chest.

It had been three months since their last encounter and, while they’d seen each other since, it had been as a part of the larger group. He hadn’t said a word to her apart from what was necessary and, while it stung, she treated him in much the same manner. He had been an unapologetic _idiot_ , after all, and treated her like…

“I’m sorry,” he said lowly, and Sakura stood at attention.

If she was gaping – well, it was hardly her fault. “You’re sorry? Really?”

“Yes.” Sasuke’s jaw fixed and he looked away, just past her shoulder. “I disrespected you and your marriage, and I… wasn’t a good friend.”

“And you cheated on Ino,” reminded Sakura helpfully.

“ _All right_ ,” snapped Sasuke. “Look, I wasn’t thinking. I was just so angry that you married Hatake out of the blue, without ever telling us, telling _me._ ”

For a second, Sakura had no words. Then she found them, along with her indignation. “ _What?_ ” she said. “You made your choice, remember? I gave you plenty of chances!”

Sasuke was looking at her, red eyes blazing, lips downturned. “Yes, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it,” he said. “I thought you’d–”

“What?” Sakura retorted. “You thought I’d wait around for you forever in case things with Ino didn’t work out? Throw myself into your arms and push out two pretty little Uchiha children at your behest?”

From the way Sasuke’s jaw tightened, Sakura knew she wasn’t far off the mark. “Sakura, will you keep your voice down?”

But Sakura shook her head, hair tickling her bare waist. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry,” she said. “I really thought we could have worked out, but you chose Ino without even speaking a _word_ to me – without even telling me your decision! After you made me believe for years…” Gods, her eyes were stinging, and she gripped her hair in frustration. “You don’t get to be angry because I didn’t wait my entire life to be loved by you, and appreciated by you, and- and _fucked_ by you, Sasuke. It doesn’t work like that!”

Sasuke took a step towards her but she took a step back, putting a hand on his chest to keep him at bay. “Sakura, I’m telling you, I’m _sorry_. I should have seen what I was throwing away before. I was in a bad place, and I needed someone unfamiliar. Ino was that person.”

“Well,” said Sakura. She clenched her fists and tried not to let her tears fall. “You’re too late. I don’t love you anymore, Sasuke, and I don’t think I have for a long time.” She turned back to Kakashi and Naruto, who were arguing about Jiraiya’s books, before saying, “You and Ino are good together, and I’ve seen how happy she makes you. Don’t ruin it.”

“Listen, I–”

But Sakura shook her head again and jogged back towards her friends, forcing laughter as she admitted that she had read every single one of Jiraiya’s books. Naruto moaned and said she was turning into Kakashi which, for some reason, made Sakura feel a bizarre sense of joy.

Sasuke approached them all, then, mumbling something about Jiraiya’s books being nothing but a fantasy, but Sakura didn’t really hear him. She was too busy looking at her husband who, after a moment, smiled charmingly at her. Sakura felt herself smile back.

It was time to begin again, she realised. And she already had a great head start.

~ 0 ~

It was girl’s night, and Ino, Hinata and Sakura were sat on the sofa, toenails freshly painted. They were buried under blankets, feet sticking out the end, listening to Ino chatter on about the latest gossip. It was nice to take their minds off the trials of everyday life, so they strayed as far away from normal topics – particularly, the recent mission to apprehend a group of Orochimaru supporters that ended in tragedy – and focus instead on silly things.

“Tenten’s got a new girlfriend,” Ino was saying. “Apparently she’s from Suna. Poison mistress.” She sniffed. “Perfect for Tenten.”

“Yeah,” Hinata giggled. “Neji was muttering about it. I think he still has a bit of a crush on her.”

“Isn’t he seeing that jinchuriki? Yutakata, or something?”

Sakura was happy to listen to them, keeping her inner eye on Kakashi, who at the moment was feeling contentment. He was having a bit of a guy’s night with Minato, Naruto and Sasuke, and she was pleased for him. She knew Naruto’s dad still got sad about Kushina: after giving up his position as Hokage to properly take care of Naruto and help him deal with being a jinchuriki, he had a lot more time to think about her, and while Sakura was sure it got easier with time, it was hard to let go of someone and brave and vibrant as Kushina Uzamaki. Especially if you had loved her as sincerely as Minato had.

“What about you, Forehead? Would you bang Minato?”

“What!?” _Kami_ , Sakura couldn’t believe she’d checked out of the conversation for two seconds and missed such an important change in topic. “I – you do realise I’m married, right?”

“Ugh,” said Ino. “You’re so boring.”

Hinata laughed again, her cheeks rosy from the bottle of rum they’d been sharing throughout the night. “I’ve only ever loved Naruto,” she admitted, “but even I think his dad is sort of tasty.”

Sakura’s mouth dropped open. _“Hinata!”_ she said. She was scandalised. Who knew the Hyuuga had it in her?

Apparently, Ino did, because she clapped Hinata on the back and laughed. “And I know he made a lot of fucked up decisions, but wasn’t Itachi just _gorgeous_? He got about 100x hotter after the whole ‘I sacrificed my happiness for the sake of Konoha’ thing.”

“Well, you do love a dark hero,” Sakura said wryly. It’s why Ino had always been attracted to Sasuke. “But you never would have had a chance. He was with Kisame Hoshigaki, who is decidedly more shark-like than you, and has a penis, to boot.”

Ino laughed. “Hey! I could paint my skin blue.”

“And grow a penis?” asked Hinata shyly.

There was silence, and then the three of them were laughing so hard that they collapsed into one another, Ino rolling off the sofa.

“My nails!” she gasped, seeing how they had smudged, and began laughing all over again.

It took a few minutes, but eventually the girls settled down. They had a good chat for a few more hours – it was nearing one in the morning – and Sakura went to grab them more drinks from the kitchen. She was just in the middle of uncapping the bottle when a pair of arms sneaked around her waist. She didn’t panic. Something inside of her told her it was Kakashi. Besides, who else would approach her like that?

Keeping her voice low so the girls wouldn’t hear her, Sakura resumed pouring the drinks. “When did you get in?” she asked.

Kakashi hummed against her neck, nuzzling at her ear. “Just now,” he murmured. “Through the window.”

He breath smelled of Minato’s Mojitos – a special concoction he created himself, and that Sakura had to admit was one of the nicest drinks she had ever had. “Can’t you just use the door?” she said.

Kakashi’s lips were hot against the curve of her jaw and she felt him smile through his mask, pressing his hips into her backside. “Not as fun.”

“You’re really drunk, aren’t you?”

“Hmm,” was all he replied. He flipped Sakura around so that she was facing him, and she muffled her laughter, looking up at him with tired fondness.

“Kakashi,” she said, “Ino and Hinata are still here.”

He either didn’t hear her or didn’t care because, the next thing Sakura knew, his mask pooling around his neck and his lips were on hers, his eyelashes tickling her cheeks. Sakura made a startled noise but settled into the kiss, enjoying the way his arms pressed around her, caging her in.

It had been around a week since they had last had sex, due to their conflicting and busy schedules. Aphrodisia had not yet hit, but Sakura was starting to feel fidgety and unfairly aroused on a daily basis, getting distracted at the most unfortunate times by the tingling of the seal and a white-hot pulse of lust that licked her from head to toe.

Sakura was just starting to truly commit herself to the kiss – arms around Kakashi’s neck, mouth open, arousal cradling her like a hammock in springtime – when Ino shouted from the other room.

“Sakura! Where the hell are our drinks?”

Kakashi chuckled, and Sakura pulled away as far as he would let her. “They’re – they’re coming!” she said. “Just… need a little more time to… find the rum?”

“Ugh,” was Ino’s reply.

Thinking that was that, Kakashi swept her into another kiss, all teeth and tongue, settling pleasantly in Sakura’s stomach like warm tea with honey. She moaned quietly under her breath, her hands wading through the storm of his hair, tugging lightly at its tallest waves.

Then Ino’s voice drifted through the doorway again. “So, seriously, Sakura, you’ve kept so tight-lipped about Kakashi,” she said. Sakura suppressed a gasp as Kakashi took her bottom lip in his mouth and sucked. “I’m so _sick_ of waiting! I want all the details. I was never pissed about the fact you kept it all hidden and had some secret wedding,” Sakura could hear the roll in her eyes, Hinata snickering in the background, “but c’mon, I’m your _best friend_. That’s gotta count for something!”

It took a moment for Sakura to pull away from Kakashi’s lips, and while he pouted, he took the opportunity to pepper kisses across her bobbing throat as she spoke. “Uh, yeah,” she said, head fuzzy, trying to remember what Ino said. “W-What do you wanna know?”

There was excited whispering, and then a wash of questions:

“Is he big?”

“What’s he like as a husband?”

“How’s the sex?”

“When’d you know you loved him?”

Kakashi was nibbling at her pulse point, no doubt bringing all her blood to the surface. Sakura tried to suppress her excited laughter. “D’you really have to know?” she called back.

There were some offended shouts and some guilt-trips, and Sakura pushed down her embarrassment as she answered. “Okay, okay,” she said, “Ah…” Kakashi’s hands were hot against her skin as he reached under her top and smoothed over the muscles of her stomach, then glided a finger under the rim of her bra. “Yeah, he’s big, but–” She gasped as Kakashi’s laughter reverberated down her spine, “– but that’s all I’m saying on that.” She desperately tried to recall their next few questions and answered, “He’s… He’s an amazing and supportive husband, although an absolute shit sometimes,” and Kakashi bit her especially hard on the neck for that one, “but I’m lucky to have him. Yes, Ino, the sex is–“ she stifled a gasp, “–amazing _._ And Hinata, I… I guess I’ve always loved him, on some level.”

That, at least, was true; despite Kakashi’s distractions, Sakura felt she’d given good answers, without having to lie – although saying such things in front of Kakashi made her feel dreadfully chagrined.

Unfortunately, inebriated as the couple were as they returned to kissing each other fervently, they failed to notice that the two kunoichi from the lounge had made their way to the kitchen, fed up of waiting for drinks that never came. Kakashi had picked Sakura up and placed her on the countertop, one hand tickling the skin beneath her breasts, the other drawing across the edge of her trousers as Sakura fumbled with his jacket, popping buttons despite the voice of reason telling her it was a bad idea.

“Oh my _god_ ,” said Ino, and her voice was so close. Sakura jerked away from Kakashi, whose mask was already covering his face, as if by its own accord.

There was a silence as Sakura righted her top and tried to jump off the counter; Kakashi, however, wouldn’t let her, and only smirked as she levelled him with her best glower.

“I-I’m so sorry, Sakura!” Hinata squeaked. Her cheeks were dark, but her eyes were sparkling. “We didn’t mean to interrupt. We didn’t realise…”

Ino had a completely different opinion on the events. “Holy _shit_ , that was hot, Sakura! Where the hell have you been keeping that!?”

Sakura tried to look as poised as was possible in such a compromising a position. “You two should be waiting on the sofa,” she said, trying to remain calm.

Kakashi laughed. It was low and rumbly, and it made Sakura want to devour him. “Maa, maa, Sakura, I don’t mind putting on a show.”

Oh, she wanted to hit him, Sakura thought, but then Ino was talking and she instead glared at his innocently smiling face.

“ _Well_ , Kakashi,” she said, flipping her hair flirtatiously. “I certainly would not be averse to a demonstration of your skills.”

“Hands off,” snapped Sakura.

Ino raised a wicked eyebrow, and Hinata giggled.

Kakashi spread his arms wide, and Sakura took advantage of the moment to jump down from the counter. “Aah, Sakura-chan, it’s so cute when you get jealous,” he teased, “Do I need to remind you again just who I am married to?”

Under his intense eyes, Sakura felt herself shiver, her heart thundering in her ears. “I wouldn’t mind a refresher,” she croaked.

Kakashi grinned, all sharp edges, and their observers fanned themselves. Realising they were still being watched, Sakura cleared her throat and looked to her friends. “Well,” she said. “We’re out of rum and… and it’s getting late.”

“Yeah,” said Ino. She crossed her arms, daring Sakura to say it.

“Maybe you should head on home?”

Hinata and Ino shared a look, then turned to face Sakura with equal amusement.

“One last question,” Ino bargained, “and then we’ll go.”

Sakura tried to puppy-dog look, then tried weakening Hinata with her eyes, but it didn’t work. She turned to Kakashi, who shrugged, and was forced to concede defeat.

“Fine, fine, fine,” she muttered. “What is it?”

She was surprised, indeed, when Hinata turned to Kakashi. “What do you like most about Sakura?” she asked, her gaze unwavering as she watched him.

Although he did well to conceal his surprise, Sakura could see he was still caught off guard, made all the worse by his intoxicated state of mind. He scratched the back of his head, and now it was his turn to cast Sakura a pleading glance, to which Sakura just smiled and crossed her arms. He turned sheepishly to Ino and Hinata.

“Aah, well,” he started. “I suppose… her honesty.” If he thought that would satisfy the girls, he had another thing coming, for they kept looking at him with expectant eyes. He sighed and continued, “Sakura’s strength has always been in her emotions – she wears her heart on her sleeve, and instead of making her weaker, it builds her up.” He paused. “She can crush me in a spar, cry about it when she almost kills me, and heal me with more proficiency than anyone I know.” His cheeks were pink, and it could have been the alcohol, but Sakura suspected it was the sudden seriousness his tone had taken. “Satisfied?”

It seems they were, for they turned and said their goodbyes over their shoulders, but not without a few innuendos. Sakura made certain to say goodbye and show them out, taking care not to show how much she was affected by what Kakashi had said. He was drunk, she reminded herself, so it was probably an exaggeration. Still, Kakashi had always been an _honest_ drunk, and he’d just said some of the nicest things anyone had ever said about her. She wondered if it was true, feeling her heart in her mouth, ready to spill out as she turned to her husband.

“Kakashi…” she whispered.

But he was already asleep, passed out face-first on the sofa, and snoring softly. Sakura tried to ignore the softening inside of her, but it was hard, when all she wanted to do was cuddle up and join him.

~ 0 ~

“Kakashi, get up.” It was incorrigibly early in the morning, and yet there Sakura was, shoving at her husband’s chest in a vain attempt to wake him. “You’ve got to leave soon, and if you’re late, Tenzou will have your head.”

With a long groan, Kakashi buried his head under his pillow. Flicks of his silver hair stuck up every which way, and Sakura resisted a smile. “Five more minutes,” he muttered. “Gotta help this cat…”

“I’m standing _right here_. Your excuses won’t work.”

Kakashi grumbled but looked up at her this time, bleary-eyed, his cheek creased with pillow marks. “Why are you up?”

Sakura rolled her eyes, trying to appear annoyed but missing the mark. Kakashi in the morning was unreasonably hard to resist. “I was packing a bag for you, _baka_. You’ve got a mission to get to. C’mon.”

He blinked. Once. Twice. Then he sat up, slowly, and noticed the breakfast Sakura had prepared, sitting on the bedside table. “What are you…?”

“You’re always late,” Sakura explained, trying not to blush, “so I thought I’d make things easier for you. Get up. I’ve got to leave for work soon, and you’re meeting Tenzou at the gates in ten minutes to track that band of Orochimaru supporters. I’ve left you a bag by the door. It should have everything you’ll need.”

“Sakura… thank you,” said Kakashi, and he was finally sitting up, pushing himself out of bed.

Sakura really did blush then, rubbing the back of her head. “It was nothing. You make breakfast for me all the time.” She tried not to think about the bento she’d prepared for him and tucked in his bag lest she make a fool of herself. Instead, she threw Kakashi his clothes and left the room, calling out behind her, “Five minutes!”

Kakashi, surprisingly, was dressed, fed and waiting by the front door in three minutes, which was a miracle. It may have been because he didn’t want to make Sakura late for work, but she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“Great!” she chirped. “Let’s go.”

Konoha was bustling and bright, even as winter neared. Sakura was wrapped up warm in a scarf knitted by Naruto, who had not known what else to get her for her last birthday. It was lumpy, holey and a lurid orange colour, yet she loved it all the same. It added a bit of colour to her drab uniform but clashed horrendously with her hair.

“You look like a lollipop,” Kakashi said, hands in his pockets, bag slung over his shoulder. When Sakura squawked indignantly, he raised his hands in defence. “Maa, maa, a very _pretty_ lollipop,” he said.

Sakura’s lips pursed. “You’re lucky we’re married,” she said, “else I’d punch you.”

“You punch me anyway,” Kakashi replied cheerfully.

To punctuate his point, Sakura did punch him, and winced when she felt the force of her strength on her own arm. “Okay, _ow_ ,” she said. “That _hurts_.”

Kakashi was chuckling, and Sakura resisted the urge to punch him again. “That’s what you get for punching the person you share pain with.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Sakura, rolling her eyes. They had reached the hospital and she turned to walk inside when Kakashi grabbed her wrist. Surprised, she looked back at him.

“Sakura,” he said, “Thanks. I mean it.”

Sakura gulped. She looked from his face, to his hand wrapped around her wrist, then to the floor, unable to meet his eyes. “Y-Yeah,” she said. “Of course. You’re welcome.”

Kakashi let her go. “I should be back by Thursday morning. Are we still on for dinner at Minato’s?”

Sakura nodded, smiled, and forced herself to relax. “Yeah, of course,” she said. “I think Tsunade’s coming, too.”

With a shrug, Kakashi waved as though to leave, then hesitated. He took Sakura by the chin, forcing her to meet his eyes, and kissed her softly. “I’ll see you soon,” he murmured.

Lips tingling, eyes wide, Sakura only nodded, and watched him jump up onto the roofs and walk away. With a deep breath, she entered the hospital and signed in, trying desperately to ignore the erratic thumping of her heart.

~ 0 ~

Minato’s house was warm, much warmer than it had a right to be, considering the awful thunderstorm outside. Sakura was sat at the table next to Kakashi with Tsunade and Naruto sitting opposite, and Minato at the head of the table. The were mid-meal, laughing at a story Minato was regaling them with about his first few weeks dating Kushina, and Naruto’s eyes were sparkling.

Hinata was unable to be there because she had clan business to attend to and, while her presence was missed, Sakura was also glad for it. It meant she got to spend some private time with her most precious people, feeling safe and happy, munching contentedly on her yakitori and rice.

“I remember that,” Kakashi rumbled, deep voice reverberating throughout the room. “Kushina could be insane sometimes, couldn’t she?”

Tsunade snorted. “The woman wasn’t called the Red-Hot Habanero for nothing,” she said. “I think she’s found a spiritual successor in Sakura.”

Sakura rolled her eyes. Kushina was a brave, amazing woman who gave her life for Konoha, and probably didn’t cry _nearly_ as much as Sakura tended to. She doubted she was anything like Naruto’s mother.

“Don’t look like that, Sakura! It’s true.” Minato was smiling at her over his glass of wine. “I bet if Kushina were here, she would have forced you on to Naruto, for all the good it would do.”

Naruto made a face and Sakura laughed. Kakashi said, “Wouldn’t that be a disaster!” and Tsunade threw her sake back.

Minato shrugged. “You never know,” he said.

They continued talking as they finished their main course and moved onto dessert: a couple of daifuku each with a side of fresh fruit. Naruto scoffed his down, to Minato’s displeasure, and Sakura found herself laughing again, feeling lighter than she had all year.

She finally felt like she was in a good place. Her friendship with Kakashi was blossoming; she had just made a major breakthrough at the hospital; the almost-war with Orochimaru was over; and her relationships were strengthening each and every day. Even she and Sasuke had forgiven each other, chatting like they used to.

“You did a great job on your last mission by the way, Kakashi,” said Tsunade suddenly, leaning back in her chair and cradling her glass. “Even Umino Iruka said your report was better than usual, and only a day late.”

Kakashi hummed, swallowing a spoonful of fruit. “Well, I had help.” And he winked at Sakura, who flushed up to her ears and busied herself with taking a drink. “Sakura may or may not have forced me into it.”

Tsunade’s gaze was heavy as it fixed on Sakura, and she smirked. “Oh? That so? Didn’t pin you as an authoritative one, Sakura.”

Sakura choked on her wine and rapidly turned purple in the face, Tsunade laughing obnoxiously in the background. Kakashi had to whack her on the back to help her cough it up.

Minato simply sighed. “Naruto,” he said, “could you go get Sakura a towel, please? And bring out another bottle of wine.”

“But–”

“ _Now_ , please, Naruto.”

Naruto got up and did as asked, leaving the room. As he left, Minato turned to Tsunade, raising an unimpressed eyebrow, although his lips were showing the beginnings of a smile.

“Really?” he asked. “You just had to?”

Tsunade gave him an innocent look. “What? I’m sure Sakura doesn’t mind us talking as friends about her rampant sex life. Do you, Sakura?”

Sakura was still coughing up wine, but squeezed out a, “I’d rather we not, shishou.”

Kakashi himself even had a bit of a blush on his cheeks. “Maa, maa,” he said, “we’re still eating.”

“Yes, quite right,” Minato said, but there was a glint in his eye that left Sakura feeling discomfited. “It’s a conversation we should have later.”

“That’s not what I–”

Naruto returned then, plonking the wine bottle in the middle of the table and helping Sakura wipe up the mess. He was mumbling something under his breath about not being a child, but he smiled at Sakura when their eyes met, and she smiled back.

“Right,” said Minato, once everyone had finished their desserts and was sat back contentedly, “if everyone’s done, I think it’s time we retire to the living room.”

With a murmur of agreement, they all rose from the table as one – but Kakashi hesitated and winced as he stood, pressing a hand into his side. Sakura’s eyes narrowed and, with her fearsome strength, she gripped his arm.

“Something the matter, _dear_?” she asked, eyes dark.

Kakashi whistled nonchalantly. “Aah. No. Just… going to sit down.”

“You’re _injured_ ,” Sakura said.

“No,” said Kakashi.

Tsunade intervened then, shoving Kakashi out of the room and onto the sofa, with the demand for him to take his shirt off. He cast pleading looks at Naruto and Minato, neither of which did anything but smile ferally, and then to Sakura. For the first time ever, she was immune to his puppy-dog eyes, and he sighed in resignation and began removing his shirt. Although she was extremely professional, Sakura sat back and let Tsunade do the work, worrying what Tsunade or Minato would say if she were to touch Kakashi’s naked torso in front of them.

Tsunade was battering Kakashi with questions about the injury, which was apparently a broken rib he’d received earlier that day in a spar with Gai. Sakura wondered how she hadn’t felt it, then realised he must have been blocking her out and felt anger and sorrow in equal measure.

Kakashi shot her a look but his attention was quickly monopolised by Tsunade, who had begun to shout.

“You’re getting along,” Minato said quietly. He was stood next to Sakura, wine glass in hand, and smiling softly at her. “You’re trying.”

Sakura huffed. “He’s always been a good friend. I didn’t want to lose him.”

Naruto was acting as Tsunade’s assistant, which really meant being her verbal punching bag as she healed Kakashi’s wound without pain relief. Poor Naruto had to hold out his hand, accepting the bone-crushing squeeze Kakashi gave it under the painful ministrations of the Slug Sannin.

Minato looked amused. “Friendship? Are you sure that’s what it is?”

“Well, what else could it be?” asked Sakura in confusion. “I mean, sure, we have to engage in–” and her ears went red, “–intimate activities for the sake of the seal, but otherwise our relationship is as it has always been.” He didn’t need to know how often they engaged in those intimate activities, Sakura told herself.

Minato laughed. He had always had such a soft laugh, and his bright eyes danced along. Truth be told, Sakura had a small crush on Minato when she was younger, swayed by his good looks and kindness. She always got caught up in fantasies about him, even as she pined for Sasuke. Even still, she felt it, but it was just remnants of what used to be.

“Look, Sakura, I’m not trying to tell you what you feel,” said Minato, “but you and Kakashi have been married for almost nine months now. Obviously, considering the grand scheme of things, that’s not much but…” He sighed, looking as though he was trying to piece the words together. “It’s hard to live with someone and have sex with someone you trust implicitly, as you trust each other, without starting to feel something. You guys are constantly around each other – training, talking way up into the night,” he paused, and added, “making each other bento boxes…”

Sakura was watching Kakashi as he lay back on the sofa, muscles rippling as they clenched in pain. She found herself concerned as she watched, then laughing internally as he gave her a thumbs up, only to be whacked across the head by Tsunade.

“See,” said Minato. “That, right there. That look. I know that look. I used to give Kushina that look all the time.”

“Minato-san...” Sakura shook her head and breathed in deeply. “We’re friends.  We always have been. Closer than most, sure,” Sakura conceded, “but _friends._ Yes, we might find each other attractive–” She thought back on what she and Kakashi had gotten up to last night, and bit her lip, “–and have sex more often than… than expected, or needed, but Kakashi just…”

What was she going to say? Kakashi drives me crazy? Turns me on? Let’s me relax? Makes me laugh? Makes my chest go all soft and heavy at the same time? Makes me feel one thousand times better whenever I see him?

_Makes me happy I’m spending the rest of my life with him?_

“ _Oh_ ,” Sakura said, her voice shaky. She avoided looking at both Kakashi and Minato, instead taking a long gulp of her wine. She knew how she wanted to finish that sentence, but she couldn’t dare say it aloud.

Minato smiled, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Well,” he said, “if you didn’t just realise that you’re in love with the guy, I’ll eat my own hat. You need another drink?” he asked, and all Sakura could do was nod, holding out her glass.

Later that night, when all the goodbyes were said, Kakashi and Sakura began their walk home. Sakura was shivering, so Kakashi flung his arm around her shoulders to help keep her warm, pulling her in close.

Sakura’s closed her eyes and blocked her emotions from reaching him, as she had done earlier that night. How had she not realised before how lost she would have felt without him? They were a finely tuned machine, picking each other up and making each other shine.

“What was that about, earlier?” Kakashi asked, his hot breath dissipating in the cold night air. The rain had stopped, thankfully, but the ground was soaked, and they had to avoid the bigger puddles as they walked. The wet leaves sloshed underfoot. “With Minato-sensei, I mean.”

Sakura cleared her throat, turning away from him. “He was just giving me some advice,” she said. “Nothing to worry about.”

“Aah.”

They continued walking. If Sakura squeezed more tightly against Kakashi’s side and breathed in his smell, she would never admit it.

“Listen,” Kakashi started again. “I’m sorry about blocking you out, and not telling you I was injured. I just didn’t want you to worry.”

Begrudgingly, Sakura understood. She looked up at him through her eyelashes, green eyes wide as they joined with his. He was already looking down at her, mask up, hitai-ate covering his sharingan. There was something about the look on his face that she couldn’t place.

“I understand, Kakashi,” she said, softly. “It just hurt, thinking that you’d intentionally blocked me out.” Not to mention, her seal had gone all tingly and unhappy.

Kakashi hummed, looking forward. “Like you are doing now, you mean?”

Okay, Sakura could see how she deserved that, but it still stung. “I just didn’t want you to… feel what I was feeling during my conversation with Minato. It was private. For him.”

“Hm. And what about now?”

“What?”

“Why are your barriers still up now?” Kakashi repeated.

Sakura tried very hard not to panic. “Oh. Well. I just… didn’t take them down?”

Kakashi’s fingers were drawing circles on her arm, warm and enticing. His face was close to hers, and Sakura didn’t realise, but they’d stopped in the middle of the empty street. He turned to face her, and she felt the frigid wind as it whipped her hair around her. She inched closer to him and he allowed it, pulling her in close to his chest.

She could hear his heart beat under her ear, strong and certain. It comforted her and she sighed, her arms looping around his waist as she tried to ignore the fluttering in her stomach.

“Could you take them down now, Sakura?” Kakashi asked lowly. And the way he said her name, _kami_ , how had she never noticed it before? “I don’t like not having you there. It doesn’t feel right.”

It was hard to refuse such a sincere request. Sakura tried, but when he put his chin on the top of her head and kissed her there, briefly, she crumbled and opened up her mind to him. She hoped she was masking her feelings well enough, and that seemed to be the case, for Kakashi simply sighed happily and pulled her back under his arm, continuing their walk onwards.

“Thanks,” he said. “That’s much better.”

His gaze was lingering on her, warm and searching, but when she turned to meet it, she saw nothing that made her panic. So, Sakura smiled back at him and, under the glow of the moon, allowed herself to have this moment. Just this one, where she could pretend that they married because they wanted to, and that Kakashi loved her as deeply as she was beginning to love him.

~ 0 ~

Sakura supposed it was inevitable that she would fall in love with Kakashi. She could feel his every pain, his every emotion; and she could sense when he was nearby. Her body was tuned into him, the seal ensuring she could only ever touch and kiss him without repulsion; and amplifying whatever she felt by one thousand. They were irrevocably bonded, and Kakashi felt it, too.

That wasn’t even considering the history they had together.

Yes, Sakura admitted, it was inevitable that she should love him. That didn’t make the fall any easier, however, whenever she caught herself thinking about him at work and wishing for him to be there, joking with her and touching her gently – not sexually, but just touching her because he wanted to.

And Sakura found that, with each and every day, she was _craving_ that contact, that relationship with Kakashi. She wanted it so desperately some days that she could taste it, and she was amazed Kakashi hadn’t noticed – or, if he had, hadn’t brought it up. Perhaps he dismissed it as something else entirely, and the thought was as relieving as it was disheartening.

Whenever something happened, good or bad, it was Kakashi she wanted to tell. Whenever she had a bad day, it was Kakashi she wanted to turn to. She found herself looking it to shops and finding things that made her think of him, and the ache when they were apart was getting worse. She was at his mercy, and it was so sweet. She could feel herself falling, as though her soul was prying itself from her body and seeking out Kakashi instead, and it _hurt._

The realisation that she was so vulnerable, so exposed to someone was unlike anything she had ever imagined before. If she had thought she loved Sasuke, it was nothing compared to this. She wanted to do things for Kakashi, to help him in his everyday life, and fall asleep with him at the end of every day, and not just because it was almost impossible to sleep without him.

“Hey,” said a voice, as she stared out the window of her favourite dango café, “Sakura. Are you okay?”

It was Shikamaru. Sakura almost laughed for the irony of it but held it at bay. “Hey,” she said back, forcing a wan smile. “Haven’t seen you properly in a while.”

“Yeah, since you first got married.” Shikamaru inclined his head to the spare seat at her table and Sakura nodded, so he sat down, placing his own plate of dango in front of him, along with a cup of fruit tea. “How’s that going?”

Sakura swallowed. “Oh. Good. You know.”

Shikamaru was the smartest shinobi in the village, even smarter than his father, and it always scared Sakura. His eyes were penetrating, as though drawing her secrets out from her skin. “I like your hair,” he said. “You look happier.”

The dango on Sakura’s plate was untouched, and she licked her lips, suddenly having lost her appetite. Her pleasure at Shikamaru’s words was unmistakeable, however, and she smiled genuinely. “Thanks, Shikamaru. I figured I needed a change.”

She was dressed in a woollen jumper that was the colour of starlight, her long, pink hair in a tight braid at the top of her head. She had woven a dark ribbon from her mother’s old sewing kit through it, liking the idea of carrying a part of her mother with her. Sakura could still remember her mother sitting at the table, sewing jumpers and dresses and all sorts of wonderful things that she sold at the stall in the market. Traditionally, the Haruno were a shinobi clan, but faded into obscurity after the First Great Shinobi War that resulted in the clan being all but wiped out. For their survival, they turned to merchantry, and lived simple lives.

It hadn’t worked. Sakura was arguably the last of her clan and, if not, then the others didn’t know of their heritage.

“Hm,” said Shikamaru. “How’s your seal doing? Did your marriage to Hatake work or what?”

Dango half-way to her lips, mouth open, Sakura froze, her eyes upturning to meet Shikamaru’s. He was watching her closely but without care, hands wrapped around his mug.

“W-What?” she asked. “Shikamaru–”

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. “Troublesome,” he muttered. “Yeah, I know about your kekkei genkai, Sakura. When Naruto mentioned you had a cool new tattoo, I worked it out. One of the Naras down the line was married to a Haruno. Said they had a powerful bond, marked by a seal on the woman’s back.”

Despite herself, Sakura’s lips twitched up into a smile. “Figured that you should figure it out, Shikamaru.”

He grunted. “So? Tell me about it.”

With only a moment’s hesitation, Sakura explained everything that she knew. She glossed over some of the more private aspects, but by the end of it, Shikamaru appeared thoroughly interested, which was a rare look on the man.

“So, if it’s all working out okay, and you’re trying to work out how to activate–“ he smirked, “–Super-Saiyan mode, why do you look so lost? Seems everything’s fine to me.”

Well, he didn’t miss a thing, did he? “I’ve come to a…” She squirmed in her seat. “A realisation. But I can think it through by myself.”

“Please, Sakura,” said Shikamaru, all blasé, “we’ve had sex. There’s hardly anything else you need to hide.”

Sakura blushed. “Did you really have to say that?”

Shikamaru smirked. “No, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to remind you that you once trusted me enough to lose your virginity to me. Whatever this is, I’ll keep it safe.”

Well, Sakura thought, she had to admit that he was right. Years ago, when Sakura was eighteen and after Sasuke had shucked her to take Ino as his girlfriend, Sakura had gone to Shikamaru in a moment of rage; having waited for Sasuke to have sex for the first time, she was sick of waiting, and Shikamaru was convinced easily enough.

The first time was painful but that week, they shared a bed together countless times, and Sakura felt closer to Shikamaru because of it. There was a point around her nineteenth birthday that she even considered approaching him and explaining that, at twenty-one, her kekkei genkai would demand she take a husband and that she wanted it to be him; but before that could happen, Temari had declared her love, and since Sakura and Shikamaru weren’t serious – they hadn’t even had sex since that one week, months prior – Shikamaru had accepted.

“Well,” began Sakura, “I think… No, I know I’m falling in love with Kakashi,” she said. Then she huffed. “Maybe I’m already there.”

Shikamaru didn’t look surprised. “Have you told him?”

“No!” she said, horrified. “No, of course not. He entered this marriage to save my life, not to have a wife and fall in love.”

“And the weekly sex?” asked Shikamaru.

Sakura’s blush grew hotter. “And the… the _daily_ sex is just a bonus. What man doesn’t want to have sex?”

Surprisingly, Shikamaru laughed, shaking his head. Sakura stared at him in confusion. “Sakura,” he started. “Yes, you are a very attractive woman and any man would love to have sex with you, but Kakashi entered this simply wanting to keep you alive. By the sounds of it, you guys realised you had a mutual attraction and began having sex not because you had to, but because you wanted to. And that whole thing with Sasuke?” Shikamaru rolled his eyes. “Sounds like he was attracted to you before you even realised you were attracted to him.”

“Well – fine,” Sakura said, because it made sense, “but attraction and lust aren’t the same thing as love. I feel so hopeless,” she moaned. “There’s no way he loves me. I’m a train-wreck. Kakashi is ten years older than me, and probably wishes he could be out there, having fun with other women. But he’s stuck with me.”

“Quite happily, it seems.” Shikamaru took a long drink of his tea. “I don’t know what Kakashi’s feeling. I’d have to see him to know. Ino is convinced the man is head over heels for you, and even if he’s not, so what? You guys share a bond that you’re never going to get out of. You’re stuck with each other. Tell Kakashi how you feel, and maybe something will happen. Don’t, and nothing will ever happen.”

Sakura pursed her lips. “I just… have to be sure. That I love him.”

Shikamaru laughed again, this one a huff of disbelief. “Haruno, you were smiling out of the window when I came over, and even when you talk about him, you look all…” He cringed. “You love him, all right? Stop questioning it and eat your damn dango.”

Although she was under no obligation to do as he said, Sakura followed his orders anyway, feeling somehow comforted by his words. After all, if Shikamaru – the smartest person she knew – said she was in love with Kakashi, then she had no reason to doubt it.

She’d known it, anyway. She was just trying to convince herself otherwise.

~ 0 ~

“I don’t want you to do this,” Sakura was saying, throat tight. “I know you’ve been dealing with them this entire time but… things change.”

Kakashi sighed. They were in bed, her head on his chest, hair splayed across her pillow. They had just woken up from a nap after an intense round of sex, and Kakashi had mentioned that he had to leave soon for his latest mission. It didn’t involve leaving the Land of Fire, but it did involve dealing with an encampment set up by some of the Orochimaru’s last supporters, and Kakashi was leading the team to apprehend them.

“Sakura… Please don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” He smiled down at her. “They don’t call me one of Konoha’s elite for nothing.”

“I know, it’s just that–” _since realising I’m falling in love with you, I’m very hesitant to let you risk your life_ , “–I thought we could do something together this week. I could ring in at the hospital, and…?”

He smiled. “How about when I get back?”

Sakura shifted, and huffed, and conceded defeat. He wasn’t going to let this go, not after he’d been working so hard on disbanding the remnants of Orochimaru’s influence these past few months. So, she nodded, and he kissed her forehead before manoeuvring out of bed. He was pulling on his trousers when Sakura turned to him, and she simultaneously felt aroused and disheartened by the look of him.

Kakashi chuckled lightly. “Maa, maa, Sakura, if you keep looking at me like that and feeling like that, I’m going to find it very hard to leave.”

Sakura scoffed. “Is that supposed to be a deterrent?” she asked. Still, she tried to flatten her emotions, and didn’t stop him from putting on his top and pulling the mask up over his face.

“Sakura…” Kakashi said.

“Yeah, yeah,” she muttered. She stood, pulling the covers around her naked body, and found Kakashi watching her as he tied his hitae-ate around his head. Pleased, she wriggled her toes, feeling a pleasant burn crawl up her body.

Ever since she had resumed training every day and was eating properly again, she had regained her lost muscle and weight, and was happy with how her body looked. Apparently, so was Kakashi, for his eyes were intense as he watched her.

“When will you be back?” she asked.

Kakashi shrugged. He began rifling through the bag Sakura had packed him that morning, making sure everything was there. “Aah, shouldn’t be too long. A couple of days maybe, a week at most.” When he felt her disappointment, he turned to her, hip pouch in hand. “We’ll do whatever you want when I get back. I promise.”

With a resigned nod, Sakura followed Kakashi out into the main room, lingering behind him as he checked himself over before opening the door.

“Just focus on work,” he said. “Maybe go out with Ino. You said you haven’t seen her much recently.”

“Yeah,” Sakura said softly. She swallowed around a lump in her throat, telling herself she was being ridiculous. “Please, stay connected to me. I couldn’t handle it if…”

“I know,” said Kakashi. He took her waist in his hands and pulled her close. “I hope this is what you’ll be wearing when I come home.”

Surprised, Sakura laughed, pulling him in for a tight hug. “Be careful,” she whispered.

Kakashi said, “Maa, maa, Sakura, who do you take me for?” as though she were being silly, but then nodded and kissed her deeply, as though sealing a promise. “I’ll be back soon,” he said, pulling his bag up on his shoulder. “I swear.”

Sakura smiled weakly. “See you soon,” she said.

Kakashi gave her one last kiss before closing the door behind him. The apartment felt much emptier without him there and Sakura stared at the door through which he’d left, forcing herself to breathe.

~ 0 ~

The night after Kakashi left, Sakura was lying in bed, reading a book, when she felt arousal that wasn’t her own. She gasped, overcome, as she let the feeling wash over her. No matter how many times it happened, she would never get used to the strength of Kakashi’s lust, the taste and feel of it. It was unique, and it drowned her thoroughly in her own desire.

Closing her eyes, she could see images. Kakashi, sneaking away from camp for a bath in the river. Kakashi, thinking of Sakura, his hand down his trousers and slowly pumping his growing erection. Kakashi, urging her to notice, prodding her through their connection.

Sakura gasped and moaned, her own hand travelling southwards, touching her clit. She rubbed it in circles, then on either side, imagining it was Kakashi touching her. She felt Kakashi’s pleasure as she reached out and connected with him, showing him exactly what she was doing, telling him exactly how she felt.

Nipples hardening, Sakura pinched at one, then reached under the bed for the box she had not told Kakashi about. She felt his curiosity, then a jolt of arousal as she brought out the dildo Ino had gotten her for her 18th birthday, rubbing it against her clit.

In her mind, Kakashi’s hand tightened around his cock as he thumbed his slit, then pumped faster as Sakura pushed the dildo inside of her, gasping at the feeling of being full. It wasn’t Kakashi, but it was close enough, what with the both of them reaching out for each other as they were.

“Kakashi,” she whispered, twisting the dildo with each new thrust. She felt another shot of lust down the line, as though he had heard her, and picked up her pace to match his. They came as one, images flashing by behind Sakura’s closed eyes, as Kakashi’s orgasm erupted from him and he fell, weak-kneed, against the tree behind him.

Sakura panted for breath, gently pulling the dildo from herself. She reached out again and Kakashi was there. It wasn’t a hug, not exactly, but they were there, feeling warm and sleepy together, and that was enough for now.

~ 0 ~

Two days later, Sakura awoke in the middle of the night, her side searing with pain, the seal on her back pulsing. She gasped, back arching, tears flooding to her eyes. She was still half-drunk from her meeting with Ino that evening, and it took a moment for her to realise what was happening.

 _Kakashi_ , she thought, panic shooting through her system. It had been four days since he’d left and she had gone out with Ino, trying to drown out the worry. Apparently, it was the absolute _worst_ thing she could do, because now Kakashi was in danger and she was drunk, and she didn’t have the time to sit and speed up her metabolism.

“Shit,” she said, falling out of bed and quickly shoving on her gear. “Shit, shit, _shit_.”

It was a good thing she kept an emergency pack. She pulled it on quickly along with her hip pouch and tried to focus on Kakashi.

“Please,” she begged, gasping as the pain in her side worsened. “Please, please, please…”

She knew she should have woken Naruto or Minato or Sasuke or just _someone_ , anyone. But she could tell the wound Kakashi had, whatever it was, would be fatal if she didn’t get there _now_ , and so she reached out through their connection, willing the seal on her back to _do something._

“Please!” she said again, falling to her knees, for the pain was getting worse. She felt like she couldn’t breathe – perhaps a punctured lung? “Please, take me to him, please…”

One blink, and suddenly she was in the middle of the forest, drowned in darkness. Around her, Kakashi’s teammates lay dead, and there was Kakashi in the middle of the clearing, sword impaled through his body.

Sakura was stupid. She was so, so stupid, she knew, but she ran in there, healing chakra immediately at her palms.

“You’re okay,” she was babbling, pressing her hands to the wound to try and stop the bleeding. “You’re fine, you’re fine, it’s all fine. I’ll remove the sword in a minute just – just keep breathing…”

Kakashi coughed, and Sakura gasped through the pain. “Ambushed,” he rasped. “Thirty of them. Way more than we thought…” Yes, and all of their bodies were littered around them. “Tenzou went for help…”

“Shh, shh, it’s okay,” said Sakura. “Stop talking.”

“Still one left... Second in command…”

Sakura didn’t bother replying because she already knew there had to be one left. Whoever had done this to Kakashi was still there. They were either extremely opportunistic and struck when Kakashi was both caught off guard and lacking chakra – a dangerous combination – or they were so powerful that even Kakashi and Tenzou together couldn’t best them.

As she healed Kakashi, ripping a slice off her own top to bandage the wound, she made sure to keep her senses open. “Keep breathing,” she said sharply, because she could feel the pain fading and, while that could be a result of her ministrations, it was more likely that he was losing consciousness. The connection between them was growing weaker. “Stay awake, Kakashi, or so help me _God_.”

The blood was lessening, and she’d managed to heal the internal injuries but there was still the matter of the sword impaling him. It had definitely nicked a lung. He wouldn’t bleed out when she pulled out the sword now because she was padding his insides protectively with her healing chakra, but there was still a very real chance he could die. Plus, if his assailant were to come back, Sakura would be low on chakra if she tried healing Kakashi now…

Luckily, or unluckily, that decision was not hers to make.

“Step away,” said a surly voice from behind Sakura. “His heart is mine to take.”

Sakura had just gripped the sword with both hands but now stopped, forcibly controlling herself from striking at the man in her anger. She instead rose to her feet. “His heart is not _yours_ ,” she said, hands shaking. She turned to face the speaker – a tall man with eyes not unlike Sakura’s, wearing a dark cloak and an intimidating frown. The set of his body was relaxed but there was a dour air about him, as though he were bored.

Sakura’s jaw clenched. This man had almost _killed_ Kakashi, _killed_ her husband, and yet he was bored? Her hands shook that little bit harder.

Disinterested, the man barely glanced at her. “He took one of mine, and thus he must pay,” he intoned. His dark cloak was wet with blood. He smelled as though _he_ was the one who died, and not all the men around them, who Sakura tried very hard not to look at. “His heart is mine. Step aside.”

“ _No_ ,” said Sakura. “No. You want Kakashi? You’ll have to get through me.”

Kakashi wheezed. “Sakura… don’t…”

Sakura could feel his pain, feel the injury, the emotion, and it only fuelled the anger blossoming in her cheeks. “Fuck you and your pride, Kakashi,” she snapped back at him, eyes remaining fixed on the man in front of her. “Listen, Stitches, I’m not moving. And you _can’t make me.”_

The man cocked his head. “You will die if you face me,” he said. “I am Kakuzu of Takigakure.”

“I don’t care who you are,” she snarled, and for a moment her rage was so hot that she could feel it setting fires inside of her, one after the other, felling all other senses. “ _You. Don’t. Get. Him_.”

It was said that a connection was shared between enemies as they stared into each other’s eyes and knew that one of them was going to die; but Sakura felt no such connection with Kakuzu. Instead, she felt blinding _fury_ that was outmatched only by her link to Kakashi, whose pulse was growing weaker.

“So be it,” said Kakuzu. “It’s your life to throw away.”

She made certain to make the first move, ripping up the ground before him in an undulating layer of dirt; Kakuzu jumped but Sakura flung it higher, wrapping it around his legs. He was freed quickly as he kicked out and was suddenly upon her.

He was annoyingly strong – almost as strong as Sakura – and fast. He knew just where to hit and with what, favouring his elbows and legs. Sakura dodged a well-timed kick to her shin as she aimed two fingers at his temple but Kakuzu dodged, slapping her arm out of the way and redirecting it with his elbow.

All her time with Hinata had not been for nothing; Sakura swerved and jabbed _right_ where Hinata had taught her to, just along his shoulder. The force of her strike launched him backwards but Kakuzu seemed unaffected. He stood there for a moment, both of them facing each other, prepared for a round two, then looked to his arm.

It was hanging limp by his side, and Sakura felt _deliciously_ vindicated.

“You are going to regret that,” he said, voice deep from behind the bandages he kept wrapped around his neck and mouth. Then he pulled off his cloak with a flourish, and Sakura saw one of the most hideous sights she had ever seen.

She had thought she’d seen stitches on him before, but nothing like this; it was as though his every limb had been torn off, shredded, and then reattached to his body. The stiches were thick and coarse – cables that ran through his skin like wide arteries. On his back were three masks, each with a different face, stitched into his dark skin.

For a moment, all Sakura could see was the sheer ugliness of him – the horror – but she was brought back when she felt Kakashi’s pulse through their link, and then all she saw was red.

“The last time I saw him,” she rasped, pushing her feet wider apart, dry dirt rolling, “he made me my favourite breakfast in bed, and told me he’d come home safe. You… you tried to take that from me – take _him_ from me.”

Kakuzu, for the first time, laughed. “And I will, little girl,” he said, “I promise.” And he was upon her again, faster somehow than before.

Taijutsu was a dance, and Kakuzu was a master. Sakura was slower than him, and although she was stronger, he played with her like she was a beginner, hands whipping out and _just_ missing, as though on purpose. Her lungs burning, Sakura feinted and struck, but he was fast, too fast, and caught her fist, twisting her arm in his grasp until she was forced on her knees; then he punched her, full force, in the side of her head.

Sakura saw stars when her body hit the floor, falling not far from Kakashi. She gasped desperately, her wobbling legs forcing her back on her feet, pressing her hand into her head. Concussion, she realised. No blood. Good; that meant she could heal it there and then.

“Disappointing,” Kakuzu said, from where he was watching her. “I thought you would be more of a fight. The Copy-Nin was a disappointment, too, but at least he showed brains… He was smart enough to take one of my hearts.”

“Don’t talk about him,” Sakura hissed, almost collapsing under her own weight. She called more healing chakra to her hands.

Kakuzu approached her. As Sakura went to move, he caught her, shoving her back to the floor. She gasped as he kicked her, and broke ribs with the force of it. “You are nothing,” he said. “You do not tell me what to do.”

Sakura watched with disgust as his stitches extended and his arm rushed forward to her, to her face and then – no, _behind her_ , to… to…

“I will have his heart. And then, I will have yours, too.”

 _“No_!” Sakura screamed as the coils wrapped around Kakashi’s body. “No, no, no, no, no...!”

And suddenly, Sakura’s seal flared, and she was on her feet, tearing the repulsive wires from Kakashi’s legs and crushing them in her palm. Kakuzu gasped and Sakura felt righteous anger.

“That hurt?” she asked, then heaved on the bundle of wire in her hand. Kakuzu stumbled and resisted but was drawn towards her with unholy speed, his heels digging into the dirt, his limp arm hanging uselessly at his side.

“What is this?” he asked, and Sakura felt herself laugh.

“This is why you don’t fuck with the Hokage’s apprentice,” she said. When she reached for him, he tugged his wires back, and she hissed as they slipped through her fingers.

When he exploded into darkness and screams, Sakura dove for Kakashi, shielding him with her own body – but she needn’t worry, for nothing hit them. When she looked back up, the masks had ripped out of his skin, and were now black shapes that hovered behind his back.

Fire, wind, and lightening… Those were what Sakura supposed the masks embodied and was proved right when Kakuzu shouted: “Katon: Intelligent Hard Work!” and the red mask leapt forward, a huge fireball shooting from its mouth.

Sakura quickly brought up an earth wall five metres in front of her, onto which the fireball collided and erupted into a fiery hale of licking flames. She quickly signed the only water jutsu she knew, but Kakuzu laughed as the water reached the fire storm, his wind mask rushing forward and-

With a curse, Sakura dove for the mask, and crushed it into dust in the palm of her hand.

Silence.

“Oh, I will be definitely taking your heart, too,” Kakuzu said, and when he struck, Sakura was faster. When he dodged, Sakura was faster still, her chakra regenerating at unreasonable rates – she felt invincible.

Even the raging fire did not stop her, nor either of his masks; she destroyed them with unholy power, her chakra flooding through her body like an endless river. “Got you,” she said, when Kakuzu was stood just centimetres in front of her, pinned by a tree she’d uprooted, crushing both of his legs. She pulled back her fist, smiling victoriously, but was stopped by a hand enclosing her elbow.

“No,” said a voice, “allow me.” And then Kakashi, made luminescent by a silvery shroud, his hair electrified, eyes glowing, pierced Kakuzu through the chest one last time, his _chidori_ blade brighter and mightier than Sakura had ever seen.

Neither of them paid attention to Kakuzu’s dying words, or how his stitches unwound, leaving only a pile of skin and clothes. Instead, once Kakashi extracted his head from the dead man’s chest, they were upon each other.

“How are you here?” asked Sakura, trying not to feel hope. “You were so close to… to dying… and I didn’t know if I’d be able to save you in time.”

Kakashi held her close, hands on either side of her face. “Maa, maa, Sakura, you think a man like that could kill me?” he asked.

Sakura ‘s eyes narrowed on him. “ _Kakashi_ ,” she said, and he huffed, gaze lingering over the rapidly fading bruise on her forehead.

“I don’t know,” he said then. “All of a sudden, I felt invigorated. Then I saw you, glowing pink and beating the shit out of that missing nin.” He laughed, his thumb toying with the corner of her mouth. His voice was low and rough as he continued, “I think it’s the bond. It was as though we were sharing chakra. The more of your chakra I had, the more I was able to replenish my own. And I noticed that you used a lightning jutsu – which you have always been unable to do.”

Sakura frowned, remembering. “I think you’re right. That sounds…” And then she wobbled, and Kakashi caught her. “Fuck.”

“You must be tired,” he said.

Sakura vehemently shook her head, leaning further in to him. “I’m fine,” she said, and when she touched the bandages on his side as she hugged him, something broke. “Kakashi,” she whispered. “I was so worried about you. When I woke up to that unbearable pain… I thought you’d died. I thought I’d _failed_ you, and, and–”

When Kakashi kissed her, worry Sakura hadn’t known was there fled her heart, and she stood on her toes to be nearer to him. With her insides warming, Sakura felt tears slip down her cheeks, and pulled away when a sob pushed its way up her throat.

“I’m sorry,” she croaked. “I was just… Don’t _ever_ do that to me again!” She hit Kakashi, but he only laughed, tugging her into another kiss, this one hotter and harder than the last. She melted against his body, heart thumping steadily in her chest.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, and there was a sound of disbelief near them as they resumed kissing.

“Ah, _gross!_ I thought you said he was in danger, Yamato-sensei, not…” The voice was, unmistakeably, Naruto’s, who Sakura saw shudder as she separated from Kakashi.

Tenzou’s eyes were wide, mouth open. “They – he… Kakashi-senpai, _what the fuck?”_

“Maa, maa, Yamato-san, not in front of the kid.” Kakashi motioned to Naruto, who squawked indignantly, while Sasuke, by his side, scoffed.

“I’m so done with this team,” the Uchiha muttered. “I’m going home.”

When Sakura looked up at Kakashi, he saw her looking and met her eyes, smiling in that way of his.

“Yeah,” said Sakura. “Home sounds like a great idea.”

~ 0 ~

Tsunade forbade them from having “crazy rabbit sex”, as she called it, for a week until they could be sure Sakura’s kekkei genkai had not done them any harm, and that they were completely healed from the ambush. They both felt fine but did not want to risk the ire of the Sannin, so did as she said, certain that heavy groping and kisses probably didn’t qualify as strenuous sexual contact.

Explaining what had happened to everyone was not easy feat, but they managed, and soon there was a sound theory crafted by the Hokage and all those that knew of Sakura’s kekkei genkai on how the seal actually worked – what happened when Sakura achieved “Super-Saiyan Mode”, as Shikamaru called it.

They thought it was triggered in emotional situations, called forward by the will of the user, which made absolute sense. They also gathered that it facilitated a share of chakra supply between the bonded, which allowed Sakura to use Kakashi’s chakra natures, and vice versa. The unnatural healing that had saved Kakashi from death was purely because Sakura was a medic nin, so her healing chakra flooded them both; if one was not trained to be a medic nin, the supernatural healing probably would not occur.

There was still much to learn, but there was plenty of time. After all, Tsunade was handing over the hat to Naruto soon, who had been groomed for the Hokage position for almost a year. Once he was Hokage, Sakura was sure she would barely be able to escape Tsunade’s lab, acting as lab-rat for the rest of her life.

It was at the end of their week of forced celibacy that Sakura felt the familiar tingling in her loins – the seal on her back prickling – that signified an aphrodisia was oncoming. She tried to tell Tsunade but was brushed off and told to wait until Sunday _or else._ So, Friday came and went, then Saturday morning, and by Saturday evening Sakura was basically inconsolable.

“I – can’t – wait,” she hiccupped, Kakashi rubbing soothing circles in her back. “It’s – too – _much_.”

“Would you like some water?” Kakashi asked, and his voice was low, rugged. “Or… I could…”

Sakura was nodding before he’d finished the sentence, grasping at the neckline of his shirt. “P-Please,” she said. “It’s… _ahh…_ almost Sunday, anyway.”

Kakashi breathed in deeply, then exhaled slowly. His eyes dilated as he did so, pupils wide and darker than usual; he stared at her, his hand sliding up her leg and drawing shivers from her. “Well,” he said, “if you insist…”

His mask was already pulled down, and the sheer relief Sakura felt when he kissed her was orgasmic in itself; she moaned, back arching as her shaking fingers wound into his unruly hair. She loved his hair. Loved grabbing on to it, feeling it against her skin as he kissed hungrily down her pale throat.

“Your aphrodisia smells so good,” Kakashi mumbled against her skin, nipping playfully at the junction of her neck. “It was so hard to resist when we first married… The bond kept pulling me to you…”

The thought of Kakashi struggling to hold himself back while Sakura touched herself in his bed, begging and needy, shot another sting of arousal through her. She palmed her breast as she moaned, catching his lips in another kiss. They kissed roughly, with need, teeth nipping lips and fingers digging into each other’s bodies.

Kakashi pushed her down on the bed, pinning her hands above her head. Sakura thought of being tied up and left to his devices for a moment and saved it for later, finding the thought entirely too delicious.

“You liked this last time,” Kakashi said, and when he smiled, she felt it against her lips. “Let me do it again…”

He began to move downwards but Sakura stopped him, her hand on his as he moved to pull off her underwear.

“No,” she said, panting for breath, “I do you.”

She hadn’t given Kakashi head before. She didn’t know why. Now, however, she felt a frantic need to do so, and despite his protests (“Are you sure, Sakura?”), she sat up and began pulling his trousers from around his waist. When he was bared – shirt off, trousers down, dick standing proud – Sakura almost lost control at the sight of him. How did he always look so _amazing_ , even when he was just sat back casually, hair a mess, lips red, muscles bunched together as he hunched?

Kakashi hummed happily when she took his cock in hand. She loved the weight and size of it but had a brief moment of hesitation. Her mouth was considerably smaller when compared to his cock – a fact she excused when another wave of lust hit her, and she bent to take Kakashi’s cock in one quick gulp.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Kakashi hissed when she swallowed around it, her mouth feeling uncomfortably full. “Breathe, Sakura. It’s okay.”

She did, forcing breaths in and out of her nose, focusing on Kakashi’s hand gently petting at her hair. When she felt she had control, she met Kakashi’s lidded gaze and bobbed forward once, taking him in so far that he hit the back of her throat, and tears sprung to her eyes. She didn’t gag although she felt the need; the sounds Kakashi made for her efforts were _so worth it_ , and she did it again.

Sakura felt more and more confident the more she did it, her throat feeling raw but her technique becoming better – when she moaned as he pulled her hair, he moaned in kind, and she swallowed desperately around his cock. He began to thrust with her, and she felt like she was going to choke but it was such a good feeling. Her throat bobbed as she pulled back and fucked him with her mouth until he was panting and groaning under her.

Kakashi suddenly grabbed her chin in his hand, and she upturned her eyes to him, cock still in her mouth.

“Now that,” he said, his smile wolfish and hungry, “is a sight I want to remember.”

Sakura didn’t realise she was shivering until he pulled out of her mouth and threw her back on the bed, hovering over her like a great storm cloud. She let him take control, snapping off her underwear and sucking gently on her nipples. When his fingers entered her, her back _arched_ off the bed, blind lust now overcoming her like it did the day of her wedding.

“Oh, fuck,” she babbled, the aphrodisia making her lose her mind, his finger pumping slowly inside of her, “Oh, fuck, Kakashi!”

Kakashi’s laughter was dark as he slipped another finger inside of her. She was incredibly wet, so his fingers slid in smoothly, even as he added another, and another; but that meant Kakashi was doing this to _tease_ her, and she abruptly remembered that her husband was a _bastard._

“I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you I hate you I–” And then Sakura lost her breath as his fingers left, replaced by his cock that pressed at her entrance, then slipped inside.

All of time and space could have crashed, burned and been rebuilt, and the only thing Sakura would remember was Kakashi – his name, his laugh, his voice, his cock, the way he felt inside of her. She grasped desperately at his back, nails scoring lines down his tan skin, undoubtedly drawing blood.

“How do you always feel so good?” Kakashi panted, flipping her on her side so he could fuck her at a new angle that made her hands clasp the bedsheets, and her toes tingle. “I want to fuck you for the rest of my life.”

When he hit a deep spot inside of her, Sakura moaned so loudly someone slammed on the wall, telling them to shut the hell up; but she did it again, even louder, as Kakashi bit down at her neck and sucked, relentlessly driving into her body, hard and fast. His hold on her hips began to tighten, his throat losing its grip on his restrained groans, as Sakura came so hard that her vision blacked out and didn’t return until Kakashi was nearing his own orgasm.

A few more delicious pumps inside of her, and Kakashi came, crying her name. Sakura smiled as he collapsed behind her, snuggling into his hot body. He was panting, his chest rising and falling rapidly, and she felt so happy realising that he was hers, forever.

“I love you,” she mumbled, feeling warm, safe, and sleepy.

But Kakashi’s body stiffened like a rod. “What did you say?” he asked, lowly.

And suddenly Sakura was wide awake, stumbling out of bed. “Oh, fuck,” she was saying, and she didn’t even realise, “ _Kami_ , Kakashi, I – Look, it’s just–” And then her dress was tugged over her head, underwear getting pulled rapidly up her pale legs, and Kakashi was just getting out of bed to grab her when she shunshin’d away.

How the heck she ended up, face-planted on Ino’s bed, was anyone’s guess. Ino, thankfully, didn’t question it.

“What bit your ass?” Ino asked, flipping through her magazine with practiced ease. “Marriage trouble?”

Sakura shuddered. “I told him I _love him_ ,” she said, and saying it aloud made the truth of it even worse.

She had royally fucked up. Despite what Minato had advised, she never planned on telling Kakashi her feelings and now – because he was just such a good lay and a good husband and he made her feel safe and happy and sated–

Ino rolled her eyes. “Big deal. You’re married, genius.” Then, taking a closer look at Sakura’s face, she closed her magazine. “Wait.”

Oh, great. Sakura had just fucked up again. “I… Look, Ino…”

“What the fuck is going on?” she asked.

Sakura, under her best friend’s murderous gaze, quickly spilled her guts. She told Ino all about her kekkei genaki, the arranged marriage, and everything that went with it. “And now I’ve just _ruined_ everything by telling him I love him!”

For a while, Ino was quiet. Then she snorted. “Yeah, right. Look, Sakura, arranged marriage or not, that man is so in love with you, he’d burn _Icha Icha_ if you asked.”

Sakura laughed despite herself. “Yeah, right.”

“What I’ve seen of you two – what I saw that day in the kitchen – that kind of passion can’t be faked, Sakura. And when he speaks about you, whenever you’re not around…” For a second, Ino looked sad, but shrugged it off. “That’s the kind of love I could only ever hope to feel.”

Speechless, Sakura’s mouth flopped uselessly open and closed. “Ino,” she went to say, but then the doorbell rang, and Sakura stilled like a scared deer. “Oh, fuck,” she said, “that’s him.”

Ino smirked. “You don’t know that. Could just be a friendly neighbour calling at half eleven at night.”

“Distract him,” Sakura said desperately, wedging open Ino’s bedroom window. “Please!”

And, because Ino was such a good friend, she did just that. Sakura could hear them talking downstairs as she crept out the window.

“Sakura?” Ino was saying. “No, no, haven’t seen her…”

The next closest house was Minato’s, so Sakura made her way there quickly. When she knocked, she looked around herself suspiciously, then pushed her way inside the second the door was opened.

“Oh, Minato-san, thank _kami_ you’re awake,” she prattled, following him into the kitchen. “I just did the stupidest thing!”

Minato chuckled. They were in the doorway when he turned to look at her, the room beyond him hidden. “Yes, so I’ve heard,” he said, and when he stepped aside, Sakura wanted to scream.

Kakashi was sat at the island, sipping on a mug of hot chocolate.

“Yo,” he said, eye crinkling in a smile.

For a second, all Sakura could do was stare incredulously, mouth agape. Then she spluttered, and said, “You were JUST at Ino’s. How the heck are you here before me, _and_ with a hot chocolate?”

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. “It was a clone,” he said. “I needed to draw you out somehow.”

“You– but–” Indignant, Sakura turned on Minato, who dressing gown was wafting around his ankles. “You didn’t tell me?”

Minato looked far too pleased with himself as he settled into his own seat at the island, wrapping his hands around his own mug of hot chocolate. That was when Sakura saw the third hot chocolate, prepared in _her_ mug. Her scowl grew deeper.

“I told you to tell Kakashi how you feel and, when you finally do, you run from the room?” Minato shook his head. “You’re right – that’s just about the stupidest thing you’ve ever done.”

“Hey!” Sakura said, but lost her voice when she saw Kakashi standing in front of her. She didn’t know when he’d moved, but he was there, a hair-breadth’s away, wearing only his mask, his trousers, and odd socks.

Slowly, he raised a hand to her cheek and cupped it, expression solemn. “Why’d you run?” he asked, his voice low, running like honey. “Did you not mean it?”

Well, she was all in at this point, Sakura supposed. “Of course I meant it,” she croaked. “That’s why I ran.”

And Kakashi, eyes sparkling, smiled. “Yet you’re always calling me an idiot,” he said. “That’s no reason to run, Sakura.”

“But you – you were shocked, and you were forced to marry me, and you probably don’t even _like_ me, so–”

It was infuriating that all it took was his kissing her to shut her up, but she supposed she was in love with the man, so it could be expected. “And you were forced to marry me,” Kakashi said, “but maybe I should change that.”

Sakura’s heart thumped painfully. What could he mean? He wanted to end it? But they couldn’t! The bond was unbreakable; the seal was _there_ , on her skin, vibrant and wild. How could he possibly think they could get out of this?

Kakashi couldn’t know what hurt and upset she was feeling at that moment, because she’d closed off their connection the minute she had said ‘I love you’. That also meant that he couldn’t possibly know the confusion and rapturous joy she felt when he got on one knee, fished a hand in his pocket, and pulled out a beautiful ring.

“Sakura,” Kakashi said, “I know you always wanted a proper wedding and… you were denied that, because of what happened. So, when Minato-sensei kicked some sense into me a few months ago and made me realise that I had fallen in love with you, I told myself that the second you said you loved me, I would grab this ring from the back of my closet and propose to you.” He laughed with embarrassment, his cheeks a little pink. “Aah, I might have gotten the idea from Icha Icha,” he hurried on, “but it doesn’t matter. Somehow, along the way, you’ve become the most important person in the world to me, and, aah…” He shrugged, shoulders straightening as he met her gaze. “I love you, Sakura, is what I’m trying to say. So, will you marry me? …Again?”

Minato was sniffling. Sakura could hear it in the background, just over the sounds of her blood rushing too fast through her body. She could taste salt on her lips and knew she must have been crying but she wasn’t making a sound. She got on the floor with Kakashi, unable to describe what she was feeling.

“Yes,” said Sakura ardently. “I would love that very much.”

Kakashi’s smile was breathless, and the ring fit perfectly on her finger. She just heard the words, “My mother’s ring,” leave his mouth before she smashed herself against him, kissing him desperately.

“I love you, too,” she said, when she pulled away. She was smiling so widely her cheeks hurt.

“Maa, maa, Sakura,” Kakashi said, “don’t you think you’re going a little fast?”

And when she whacked him, he took it with a laugh, and they were kissing again.

“Okay, what the hell is going on with those two? Why’d you always let them in the house, Dad? …Wait, Dad? Why are you crying? What’s going on?”

Finally, everything felt right, thought Sakura. And dear Naruto, with his charming obliviousness, only made the moment all the sweeter.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading :D
> 
> I'd love to hear what you liked, what you disliked, etc, etc. Leave me a comment below and I'll work on whatever you think needs working on.


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